TEESDALE people have inundated their local authority with complaints about a plan to increase recycling.

Teesdale District Council officials have apologised to the public for not collecting their recycled goods.

They have also admitted that workers have been overwhelmed by the response from residents.

The council recently issued thousands of people with wheeled bins in an effort to meet strict Government guidelines about the amount of waste that local authorities recycle.

But the council only provided one vehicle to collect recyclable material, including paper, cans, glass and aluminium, and it has not been able to cope with the quantity of waste left for collection.

The authority has introduced a second vehicle to collect rubbish and recyclable materials and has employed a further three workers to collect the litter.

Jean Chapman, of the council's technical and contract services urged people to continue their recycling efforts.

She said: "We sincerely apologise to residents who have not had their recyclable materials collected, but we have been overwhelmed by the response and we are doing everything we can to meet the demands. We have brought in an extra vehicle and more staff to collect the materials, and we are confident they can meet the demands."

She said: "At the moment, we are trying to gauge the response from the public and so far it has been very encouraging and we would urge people to carry on putting out their recyclable goods.

"We are still in the teething process at the moment, but things should improve and we are asking the public to be patient until we have the adequate resources, which will be very soon."

An Eggleston resident, who asked not to be named, said: "We are all in favour of recycling but we just want to know that the materials we box up will be taken away and at the moment the council is not doing that. Hopefully, if the council brings in another vehicle then it might get better, but despite that we will continue to support the council's efforts."

A homeowner in Mickleton said: "The reason they were overwhelmed is simple: we were told it was compulsory.

"As far as people up here are concerned they have no choice in the matter, no wonder the response has been good."