AN update has been issued to Herefordshire households as problems surrounding bin collections continue.

Some homes in Herefordshire have had their bins left on the roadside unemptied as the council suffers a shortage of drivers.

A shortage of lorry drivers in the UK and the "pingdemic", where the NHS Covid-19 app tells people to self-isolate, meant some bins were not emptied.

A Herefordshire Council spokesperson said the waste industry as a whole was suffering from a "severe shortage" of lorry drivers, made worse by self-isolation.

They said last week there was an "unusually high rate" of workers being off sick and our its contractor said provision was being put in place to try and avoid anything similar happening again in the future.

In a fresh update, the council said the ongoing shortage would be some bins would be collected later than usual.

"Our crews are working hard to make collections, so please only report a missed bin if it has not been collected by 5pm - before this time, a crew may still be on their way to you," a spokesperson said.

"We're sorry for any inconvenience this may cause."

Any residents who have seen their rubbish go uncollected should visit the council's website or call 01432 260051.

A spokesperson said last week: "Residents are asked to leave their waste out for collection after reporting it and we will return as soon as possible.

“We will continue to monitor the performance of the service and will deal with any issues as necessary.”

The Unite union estimated a shortage of around 75,000 lorry drivers in the UK and said improvements in pay and welfare facilities for drivers were needed to make the industry more attractive for new entrants.