WARRINGTON Borough Council has explained why it cannot outsource bin collections amid the ongoing strikes.

Part of a national dispute between members of the UNITE trade union regarding pay and working conditions, strikes are set to continue until mid-November in Warrington.

Tips in the town have extended their opening hours so residents can dispose of their own waste, but many have called on the council to provide council tax rebates as a result of being unable to provide a service.

However, the council said that this would be impossible, as these payments are a tax, not a service payment.

One Warrington Borough Councillor, Wendy Maisey OBE, questioned online why the council had not outsourced the collection of household waste to mitigate the impact of the strikes on residents.

Cllr Maisey posted: "The refuse collection strikes continue throughout Warrington again this week.

"It simply isn’t good enough and has the biggest impact on the most vulnerable in our community who can’t go to the tip.

"Three weeks ago I pushed Warrington Borough Council to bring in outside contractors to help keep our town clean.

"I was told this wasn’t an option, it’s surely time now to rethink."

When quizzed on the issue by the Warrington Guardian, a spokesperson for Warrington Borough Council said: "By law, we are banned from paying agency workers to cover the duties performed by a worker who is taking part in a strike.

“This prevents us from employing agency workers to cover the duties of employees on strike.

"We are not currently considering engaging the services of outside contractors."