SUBSCRIBERS to the council's garden waste collection service will receive an additional collection over the festive period.

Usually, the garden waste (brown bin) collection service would take a break for four weeks over Christmas and New Year. However, this year collections will take a shorter break.

Garden waste collections will run until December 20 and then restart on January 4.

A council spokesperson said: "This additional collection over the festive period, is to make sure that subscribers do not miss any collections that they have paid for following the missed collection in September, when the garden waste service was reduced to four-weekly instead of fortnightly.

"For subscribers that have a real Christmas tree, when it is taken down, it can be chopped up and put into the brown bin.

"Similarly, so can real wreaths – although these should be dismantled and any plastic should be removed before doing so.

"Check scheduled collection dates over December and January on the council’s website."