A council has apologised to residents over major disruption to their bin collection services.

Arun District Council and Verdant, the council's refuse collection contractor, have admitted the level of disruption to the services was "unacceptable" and have offered residents an apology for the problems during the last four to five weeks.

Senior council members and Verdant directors said they were satisfied services were operating normally.

A new contract was introduced on February 28, meaning organisational changes.

The council has deployed extra staff to answer a higher number of customer calls and has agreed action with Verdant to solve outstanding problems.

Last week more than 90 per cent of Arun residents received a normal or post-Easter scheduled collection and this week all collection rounds were on target.

Councillor Stephen Brookman, Arun's Cabinet member for the environment, said: "Arun District Council and Verdant offer an apology to any residents who have suffered inconvenience.

"While the last few weeks have undoubtedly been difficult, the council remains positive that the substantial long-term benefits arising from the new contract will be seen."

Roger Edwards, development director at Verdant, said: "All residents can be rest assured our staff are working extremely hard to rectify any outstanding issues."

A review of the first few weeks is scheduled by the council next Thursday.

The new recycling service which started in the Findon and East Preston areas began well, with 25 tonnes of mixed recycling material collected on the first day.

The green waste service offered by Verdant has encouraged more than 2,000 properties to sign up.

If your rubbish has not been collected, call the council on 01903 737551 or e-mail cleansing@arun.gov.uk