COUNCIL bosses have unveiled plans to "partially re-introduce" the collection of garden waste.

Collections were suspended indefinitely back in March when Prime Minister announced the UK would go into lockdown to slow the spread of coronavirus.

But with the Government now looking to ease social distancing restrictions in the coming months, Braintree Council says it will restart garden waste collections.

The system will not return to normal however as residents can expect collections once every four weeks.

A council spokesman said: "We appreciate that this is not the usual fortnightly collections, but we and the crews are doing all we can to make it work under the current circumstances.

"Thank you to everyone for the many supportive comments and understanding during this difficult time."

The suspension of garden waste collections coincided with Essex County Council closing all recycling centres indefinitely, meaning residents have been unable to get rid of their waste since late March.

Residents will receive a card in the post informing them of their first garden waste collection date.

For more information, visit braintree.gov.uk/coronavirus.