The boss of Colchester Council has apologised for the waste collection chaos.

Chief executive Adrian Pritchard responded to calls for heads to roll after some people were left with rubbish piling up for three weeks.

He told the council's strategic overview and scrutiny panel last night he was sorry there was not a contingency plan in operation when Essex County Council closed the Bellhouse landfill site on Saturday.

"Certainly I'm sorry for that occurrence, but I have to say the staff did as superb a job as they could," he said.

He urged the panel to recommend that a plan be organised with the county council to avoid future problems.

Chairing the meeting, Martin Hunt (Lib Dem, Christ Church) said the problems could not just be put down to the closure of the Bellhouse site. People had been confused about when they should put rubbish out because of alterations to the collections.

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Published Wednesday, January 12, 2005

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