THE council has blamed issues with recycling collections in Barrow this week on 'staff sickness.' 

Barrow Town councillor Paul Griffiths shared an email from a council officer apologising for cancelling the recycling rounds in his ward in Roose.

"Yet again, we've seen unexpectedly high absence among our HGV drivers," the email states.

Westmorland and Furness Council confirmed that staff sickness was to blame for 'impacting' recycling collections in Barrow. 

"[The council] is committed to maintaining the highest levels of service in our waste and recycling collections and we thank residents for their understanding when factors beyond our control mean we miss collections.

"We ask residents to please take their recycling containers back in and we will collect on the next scheduled day," a spokesperson said. 

Information about waste and recycling collections can be found in this section of the Westmorland and Furness Council website.