An expansion of a doorstep recycling service will create 50 jobs .

Brighton and Hove City Council also hopes to improve its bin collection and street cleaning rounds.

The jobs being advertised from today include HGV drivers to be paid on average £20,500 a year with opportunities for overtime.

Union officials say a shortage of drivers has left some recycling crews sitting around the council's depot at Hollingdean with nothing to do because there are not enough employees with HGV licences to drive lorries.

It has meant some areas of the city, such as Woodingdean, having recycling bins emptied one or two days late and crews having to catch up on overtime at weekends.

News of the recruitment campaign has been welcome by staff and unions.

One recycling team member said: "It was ridiculous to have crews waiting around just because there was nobody with an HGV licence."

The jobs push also aims to recruit more street cleaners.

The council, along with other local authorities, is being pressurised by the Government to increase the amount of waste it recycles each year and to reduce the amount of rubbish dumped in landfill sites.

New recycling rounds are being introduced with the eventual aim of ensuring every household in the city has a regular recycling collection for glass and paper.