A waste recycling centre had between 1,200 and 1,500 visitors last weekend when it opened earlier than expected after a four month closure.

closed for four months after a fire.

The Pepper Hill tip in Southfleet opened last Saturday morning after work finished sooner than expected after it suffered a fire in April.

While it was shut an estimated 6,000 visitors had to find somewhere else to dispose of their rubbish during closure.

The tip was closed by Kent County Council (KCC) following a major blaze on Saturday, April 21 in the household waste bay in the waste transfer station at the site in Station Road.

The cause of the fire is still not known due to the quantity of waste taken into the site.

Testing on the building following the fire found dangerously high chloride levels produced from the various types of waste which burnt.

A full two-month decontamination process by specialists was necessary which was followed by several weeks of work to renew lighting, doors, concrete walls, electrics, the sprinkler system, CCTV and cladding.

The Environment Agency has now provided approvals to FCC Environment, the contractor which runs Pepperhill, so the site can reopen.

The news will be welcomed by householders in Medway too, as the Cuxton household waste and recycling centre had been busier since the closure of Pepperhill.

Bosses at KCC also announced earlier today the site will have extended opening hours on Wednesdays until 6.30pm and Thursdays until 6pm in line with the other sites hours.

This arrangement will continue until the end of September.

Kay Groves, KCC waste services manager, said: “I appreciate the closure has been extremely inconvenient for people.

"It was necessary for our contractor to complete significant amounts of cleaning."