Sita will collect rubbish in Brighton and Hove for an extra two weeks as the city council continues its bid to forge a deal with new contractors.

Last night, Sita managing director Ian Goodfellow agreed a deal with Alan McCarthy, strategic director of environment and housing, to operate the refuse and street cleaning contract until October 14.

The agreement comes after The Argus revealed how Serviceteam and the council were yet to sign a contract, only days before the firm was due to take over from Sita.

A council spokeswoman said: "We are still involved in complex negotiations with Serviceteam to get the price right. While this happens residents can be assured there will be no break in the service."

Mr McCarthy had hoped Serviceteam, the city council's preferred bidder, would have been ready to take over this week.

The changes mean Sita, which was sacked by the council following months of service disruptions and staff unrest, will be in charge of keeping the city clean when thousands of visitors arrive on Sunday for the start of the Labour Party's conference.

Sita's £6.7 million contract officially ended on September 14.

In August, managers of the French-owned waste firm agreed a maximum extension until October 14 to operate the service while its replacement was found.

The city council has not revealed how much it has agreed to pay Sita to stay on.

In the past week, a series of meetings have been held between Serviceteam managers and council officers to try to set the price and scope of the contract.