Christmas bin collections in UK at risk as lorry drivers quit

Local councils face a shortage of refuse collectors who can earn tens of thousands more driving for supermarkets or food hauliers

Households are being warned of a Christmas crisis" in bin collections as drivers quit their jobs for better pay working for supermarkets and food hauliers.

Bin lorry drivers are being offered pay deals worth as much as 40,000 a year to switch to jobs in the food industry. One council in Lancashire said last week it had lost almost half of its drivers in the last three months.