A number of positive Covid-19 cases have disrupted Croydon Council's waste collection services, the council have confirmed.

Coronavirus infection rates are rising in the borough and have impacted the council's ability to collect waste from people's homes, while garden waste collection services have been suspended altogether.

In recent days, residents in Croydon took to social media in voicing complaints that various bins were not being emptied to collected on their roads.

Responding on the issue, a spokesperson for Croydon Council said that Covid-19 had impacted the workforce assigned to bin collections in the borough:

"Our waste and recycling collections are currently being impacted by a rise in Covid-19 cases, leading to a reduced workforce.

"As a result, food and rubbish collections will be prioritised, and your collection may be later than usual.

"If your collection is missed, please leave your bins at your normal collection point and we will try to return," they said.

The spokesperson added that "the garden waste collection service has been suspended until further notice."

"We apologise for any inconvenience, and will collect any additional waste as soon as the service resumes," they added in a link to the statement posted to Twitter.

Thousands of new cases in Croydon were reported in the latest seven-day data released by Publich Health England (PHE).

In the week up to January 7, 4, 179 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed, up 253 or 6.4 per cent from the previous week's figure.