Nearly 1,700 rubbish collections were missed in six months.

The figure, which includes black bags, food waste and recyclables, equates to nearly 63 missed collections per 100,000 in the six months from April 1 last year or about 12 to 13 a day.

A Maldon District Council spokesman said: “Although this is relatively low, it is of little comfort to those who have been inconvenienced and we are working towards a figure of 50 per 100,000 collections (roughly 10 per day) which is generally accepted as good practice in the industry.

“The good news is that this indicator has a strong downward trend and we have already made good progress.”

Missed collections were blamed on residents not putting out rubbish by 7am, changes to routes, badweather conditions, accidents and vehicle breakdowns, and human error.