A waste firm was today counting the cost after one of its expensive new trucks ended up flipped over in a field.

A collection lorry from Serco's new fleet of vehicles was spotted on its side in a field just off Westwood Road on the outskirts of Canterbury this afternoon.

But the accident tops off a difficult week for the refuse company... who were earlier forced to apologise after a binman was caught on camera mixing recycling rubbish.

The contractor, chosen by Canterbury City Council to collect the district's rubbish for the next eight years, was hit by scandal earlier this week when one of its binmen was seen tipping separated recycling into one wheelie bin in Whitstable.

A reader, who sent the photo above to KentOnline, said of the truck: "While out walking the dog on Westwood Road on the outskirts of Kingston, we saw the rubbish truck in a field!

"Apparently nobody was hurt in the accident and the council and recovery services are now in the process of trying to right the truck and drag it out of the field."

No other vehicles were involved in the crash.

Sean Trotter, Serco's lead contract manager for Canterbury environmental services, said: "We can confirm that one of our refuse collection vehicles was today involved in an incident which resulted in the vehicle slipping down a bank into a field.

"One crew member has been taken to Canterbury Hospital with reported minor injuries.

"There were no other vehicles involved. We are recovering the vehicle to Kingsmead Depot for assessment and have instigated a full investigation into the cause. The vehicle involved was carrying out waste collections in accordance with our normal operating procedures, and was on its normal route."