Ceredigion County Council has said that a lack of staff due to wintry conditions forcing workers out to grit roads has left some bottle banks overflowing.

While the bottle banks in the county are supposed to be emptied regularly, complaints have been made that the bottle banks in Penrhyncoch were full, with residents left to put glass on the floor beside them.

The bottle banks near Morrisons petrol station in Llanbadarn were popular and regularly overflowing before being removed from use.

A kerb-side glass collection is due to start in the spring on the introduction of the three-weekly black bin bag collection, and the council is hopeful that the glass collections will help.

A council spokesperson said: “The glass banks provided by the council are scheduled for regular emptying.

“Use of the banks can vary, and we can change the frequency of collections if needed.

“Occasionally there can be peaks in demand which can be difficult to deal with.

“If we are made aware that a bottle bank needs emptying, we will try empty it as soon as possible.

“The glass banks at Penrhyncoch are emptied on a weekly basis.

“This has been achieved so far during 2019.

“Our ability to empty the bottle banks as planned can be affected by availability of resources to do the work.

“This is especially the case during winter months when council staff can be involved in gritting work to keep the roads safe.

“This can impact on the ability of council workers to do their regular work.

“While we make every effort to minimise inconvenience to residents, we apologise for when this occasionally happens."

See this week’s south papers for the full story, available in shops and as a digital edition tomorrow