WINCHESTER City Council has apologised to residents across the district after receiving a high number of complaints about waste collections.

The service, provided by Biffa, recently caused a backlog of rubbish in a number of areas across Winchester and East Hampshire.

The council originally posted an apology on social media, to which one Twitter user replied: “St Paul’s Hill now a month since collection. This is appalling service.”

A spokesperson for the council has since said the problems were caused by ‘unprecedented’ difficulties with vehicles and staffing at Biffa.

They said: “We apologise sincerely to any of our residents affected by a late bin collection. Additional staff, vehicles and other contractors have been brought in to complete all outstanding collections with a view to returning to normal service by the end of the week.

“Although much of the backlog of collections has now been completed, we are continuing to monitor progress.”

The Chronicle contacted Biffa, but is yet to receive a reply.