Garden collections on hold

COLLECTIONS of garden waste have been suspended to allow council staff to focus on clearing the backlog of domestic waste.

Communal bins and wheelie bins across the city have started to overflow with rubbish in recent weeks due to the weather and many bin men refusing to work for "health and safety" reasons.

The council has announced that garden waste services are suspended this week to focus on domestic collections.

Street cleaning staff have also been redeployed to deal with excess waste accumulating around on-street communal bins.

Meanwhile, the council has revealed that a number of community groups assisted during the worst of the bad weather.

Around 30 volunteers in Portobello helped clear streets around Portobello High Street and the Promenade last Saturday.

In the city centre, church members helped clear the area around the High Street.