A rubbish tip in south Essex has extended its opening hours to help residents affected by waste collection delays.

Pink sack collections across the borough have been disrupted in recent days amid claims waste crews have “called in sick”.

It has been suggested a breakdown in the relationship between the council and staff may actually be behind a shortage of HGV drivers.

Collection of pink sacks got underway again in Basildon this morning, but council bosses have announced Barleylands Recycling Centre will remain open for longer this week to help people dispose of uncollected rubbish.

The opening times have been extended to 8am – 5.30pm until collection issues have been resolved.

In an update this lunchtime, Basildon Council confirmed pink sack collections would also be resuming in Langdon Hill and Laindon from tomorrow.

However, glass collections remain affected by the delays.

The council tweeted: “Pink sack recycling collections will resume in Laindon and Langdon Hills tomorrow (Wednesday, September 8).

“Residents are advised to leave pinks sacks out as usual.

“There will be no glass collections in Laindon and Langdon Hills tomorrow.

“We apologise for the inconvenience.”

A spokesman for the council has also confirmed “extra resources” are being drafted in to tackle the shortage of HGV drivers.

He added street cleaning teams were being sent out around the borough to tidy up areas where needed.