Civic leaders are racing against time to organise a new household rubbish collection service for Littlehampton, Bognor, Arundel and Ferring.

Onyx UK Ltd will cease operating in the Arun district on Friday June 27 after running up "unsustainable losses".

Arun District Council has pledged that dustbin emptying will not be affected.

Meanwhile, a team of council officers is studying seven tenders, including an in-house offer, to take over the troubled service.

The council appointed Onyx on a 15-year contract in 1996 to provide services including refuse collection, street sweeping, litter picking and dog bin waste removal.

Onyx ran into trouble in 2001-2002, resulting in the council increasing the money it paid to the firm, but even this did not help.

The council has now retendered the contract, which will cover 19 months so the overall waste strategy can be reviewed.

Arun services director Colin Rogers assured residents that a regular refuse collection would continue during the changeover.