Kind-hearted residents have helped clear Christmas trees from the streets after the council said they would not be collected until next month.

Spruces have been lining pavements across the Canterbury district since collections were postponed.

The city council's waste collection contractor, Serco, was due to start picking up Christmas trees last month, but the service had to be suspended due to "the level of sickness and isolation" among staff.

The authority's waste collection service has since been brought in-house and its newly-formed company, Canenco, is now set to collect Christmas trees during the first two weeks of March.

Homeowners had been urged to clear them from the street after the council confirmed they would be collected.

However, a group of residents decided to collect the sad-looking trees from the streets of Whitstable and moved them to a location ready to be picked up next month.

Gorrell representative Cllr Chris Cornell (Lab) and landscaper Phil Webb shifted about 200 of them to Whitstable Town Football Club's car park, which is not being used amid the lockdown.

Mr Webb, who works at Oak Apple Landscapes in Blean, used his truck to move the spruces - targeting roads where they were blocking the pavement or where the gardens were the smallest.

This included Clare Road, Woodlawn Street, Cromwell Road, Regent Street, Island Wall, Gorrell Road, Gladstone Road, St Peter’s Road.

The landscaper, 39, said: "All those trees strewn around town were frankly a mess.

"We couldn't have them around town for another month.

"We were really glad that we could help and make life a little easier for everyone."

Residents are being asked to take their trees back in and to put them back out for collection on March 1.

Meanwhile, thousands of bins across the district will be left overflowing with a month’s worth of rubbish as heavy snow wreaked havoc on collection rounds.

Cllr Cornell said: "The bin crews have obviously been hit really hard with Covid this year, however the trees have been a real menace particularly for the disabled and elderly.

"When the council said that trees might not be picked up until mid March we know we had to act.

"Sometimes you just have to take things into own hands."

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