A city council is set to bin the authority's three-decade relationship with Serco and run the district's rubbish collection service itself.

After almost 30 years emptying bins in Canterbury, Herne Bay and Whitstable, the under-fire firm will not have its £43 million contract renewed when it expires in January 2021.

The local authority will instead launch its own company, bringing the service in-house to provide "more flexibility and reliability for residents".

Council leader Simon Cook insists it is "nothing personal" against Serco, which has been plagued by complaints since winning its latest contract in 2013.

"All residents care about is having their bins reliably emptied every week, not who does it," he said.

"It's not about saving money because it will cost around the same.

"But by having direct control we will have more flexibility and be able to react quicker to changes in waste collection demands without the restriction of a contract."

Only last month two in five residents admitted in a survey they were "fairly or very dissatisfied" with Serco's service.

It has repeatedly come in for criticism for missed bin collections, and in December was still failing to hit targets despite the city council making them easier to achieve and pumping an extra £140,000 a year into the service.

Cllr Cook says that under the new in-house set-up, the existing four-bin, fortnightly collection service will continue and residents "should not notice any difference".

The 100 waste collection and street cleaning staff will transfer over to the council's new company under TUPE rules, the council would take over the Serco depot in Wincheap, which it owns and leases to the contractor.

The authority may also discuss taking on some of the existing 30 refuse vehicles or could seek to acquire a new fleet.

Its director of commissioned services, David Ford, is recommending the council set up a Local Authority Trading Company to run both the waste collection and street cleaning service.

It is able to avoid the usual tendering requirements by a special exemption under the Public Contract Regulations 2015.

The full details will be put to members of the council's policy and resources committee for a decision on Wednesday next week.

In his report, Mr Ford says: "Flexibility is clearly a key issue. The service and requirements will change over the next 10 years and the council will want to introduce digital solutions that are imaginative and innovative.

"Ultimately, it will provide the council with greater control over delivery of the service and the flexibility to respond to changing circumstances.

"Although the contract with Serco does not end for another two years, setting up something like this takes a lot of time which is why we have started the process now."

The council has spent about £35,000 on securing expert advice on bringing the service in-house and spoken to other authorities which are already going down that route.

It says the cost of setting up a Local Authority Trading Company is about £400,000, compared to £180,000 if it went out to tender.

The council's contract with Serco for parks and gardens and sports pitches maintenance, due to end in 2022, is not affected.