By Hayley Robinson

Rubbish collections across Swale have been suspended following last night's snow fall.

Residents are being advised to leave their black sacks and recycling bags out for collection in the hope the service will resume as soon as possible. A collection of brown bin waste is suspended until January 25.

Areas currently waiting for a refuse collection include Stalisfield, Graveney, Doddington, Hernhill, Selling, Boughton, Bobbing, Leysdown and Eastchurch.

Some areas west of Sittingbourne Town Centre have only just had a months worth of rubbish cleared after the first lot of snow led to contractor Verdant suspending the fortnightly service a week before Christmas for safety reasons.

A spokesman for Swale Borough Council said: "We are fully conscious of the fact that some residents are overdue collections and we are giving the matter urgent attention. We do understand how important it is to provide a collection service. These collections will be given absolute priority when services restart.

"Please rest assured we will do all we can to provide a service to all properties in the days ahead.

"If you are concerned about food waste please remember that, first of all, in these temperatures your wheelie is like a fridge or freezer. Food waste will be frozen and not a health hazard.

"May we offer the following advice: if you are concerned about food waste please ensure this is inside your wheelie with the lid down. As we are taking excess with green bins please use sacks for material that is not at risk from animals, birds and vermin. Please also ensure that you use your blue bin for as much recycling as possible.

"We always take unlimited quantities of recyclables with the blue bins, so excess is never a problem. Nothing in the blue bin should present a health hazard. Please don’t use black sacks for excess recyclables.

"Safety is of paramount importance. The collection vehicles are a potential danger to people and property in icy conditions and the crews risk injury on slippery pavements handling often heavy wheel bins. Council officers and contractor supervisors are continually checking road conditions and management are constantly reviewing the position."

For Clinical waste and bulky waste contact Customer Services on 01795 417850.

For further updates visit www.swale.gov.uk/snow/