Bexley Council have issued a statement after waste collections across the borough were missed over the last week.

In their statement, the authority said multiple collections were missed after a wave of sickness-induced absences hit Serco, the waste management company the council has contracted for the service.

Areas affected included parts of Blackfen, Bexley, Bexleyheath, Welling, Crayford and Erith.

The council said residents who have been missed are advised to keep their bin out for collection.

According to the authority, Serco are planning for the service to be back to normal and delayed collections caught up by the end of the Bank Holiday weekend.

It’s the latest drama with Serco, whose workers have staged several high-profile strikes over pay disputes in the borough over the last year.

Just last month Unite, the union representing Serco staff, announced it had called off a five-day strike are reaching a renewed pay deal with the outsourcing giants.

The council also posted an update on what the Bank Holiday would mean for collections in the coming week.

According to the council, there won’t be any collections on Monday, August 31.

Instead, collections will be pushed back by a single day for the entire week – for example, Monday collections will instead be collected on Tuesday, and so on.

The council expects normal arrangements to be back in place by September 7.