THE snowy conditions have barely affected Colchester’s refuse collection system.

Colchester Council’s intrepid binmen have collected more than 98 per cent of bags left out last week.

Council bosses praised staff who have had to walk up to 15 miles a day to get the job done.

Dave McManus, street services and recycling manager, said it was one of few councils to have continued its rounds during the bad weather, with 98 per cent of collections carried out on Wednesday and 99 per cent on Thursday.

He said: “The roads that could not be done were the ones which were unpassable due to them not having been gritted, but there were very few of those.

“I cannot praise them highly enough, they really have done a cracking job.

“It is very cold out there and they are having to walk about in difficult conditions, but have not complained once. They have just got on with it.”

He said other street services staff unable to carry out their usual jobs, such as operating street cleaning machines, had helped with the rounds and also with handgritting the town centre streets and pathways.

The council stepped in to help Essex County Council, which has given it access to salt stocks in Ardleigh.

Out on their round in Prettygate on Friday, binmen Jimmy McInnes, James McRoberts and Ross Barrett said it was all in a day’s work.

Mr McInnes said: “This is the worst weather I have known in the nine and a half years I have been doing this, but you just get on with it.

“The response from the public has been very positive. We have had a lot of compliments from people who had not expected to see us.”

Mr McRoberts, 22, said: “I have worked on building sites before and on days like this everything stops, but we are providing a service, so we just get on with it.

“Some of the roads have been very slippery, but on the whole it has been fine.”

Mr Barrett, 20, said: “It’s been a bit slippery. A lot of people have been pleasantly surprised as they did not expect us to come round.”

l Mr McManus was a refuse collector when north Essex last experienced such extreme weather conditions more than 20 years ago in 1987.

He and his fellow collectors were picture in the Gazette completing the daily collections.