Wirral Council’s large item collection service, ERIC, will resume from Monday May 11.

The service allows residents to dispose of large or bulky items, such as white goods or items of furniture, without having to leave their home or wait in queues once the tips re-open.

People wanting to use the service can book a collection now through the council website. Availability each day is limited, to make sure that Biffa can complete the collections as scheduled. Residents will be allocated the closest available collection date.

The service costs £29.50 to have up to six items collected, which will need to be left in an accessible place outside homes on the day of collection.

When booking a collection, residents will need to list the items that they want to have collected. Items not listed will not be collected on the day.

A council spokesperson said: “We appreciate how difficult it has been for residents to dispose of waste with the tips being closed and garden waste collections suspended – especially while spending more time at home.

“Understandably, residents may be wondering why we couldn’t use these staff to resume garden waste collections.

"Simply, the bulky waste staff are not licenced to drive the larger bin wagons and there aren’t enough available drivers and loaders to resume the garden waste service. We’re doing our best to bring garden waste collections back as soon as possible.

"We kindly ask residents who aren’t on the shielding list to hold off for the first week to allow those who are and those most in need to access the service first.

"The council once again thanks all residents for their patience and understanding as we try to manage front line services as best we can."

To find out more about the service, see which items can and cannot be collected or to book a collection, visit the council website.