WASTE collections in Somerset will begin earlier in the mornings next week, starting 6 am from Tuesday (May 26) as temperatures are expected to soar to 25 degrees.

The early starts are to help crews impacted by the hot weather and help to minimise any chance of disruption to recycling, rubbish, or garden waste collections across the county.

Somerset executive Cllr Federica Smith-Roberts said: “Waste collection is hard, physical work, and early starts help limit the time crews spend working in the hottest part of the day.

“After such cool weather we have had in recent weeks, temperatures are expected to rise sharply.

“It is forecast to be very hot next week, so our crews need to start earlier to avoid the worst of the heat.”

Somerset Council is asking residents to put out their bins the night before collections to make sure they are prepared for the early start.

The authority’s waste and recycling collection crews make more than 350,000 collections a week.