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Bin collections to resume in Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon

Getty Images A brown bin overflowing with compostable waste Getty Images
Some brown bins in the area had not been emptied in seven weeks

Bin collection services are due to return to normal on Friday in Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon.

Some services were disrupted in recent weeks due to industrial action by members of the Unite union.

The strike action, which is due to end at midnight on Thursday, was linked to an employment dispute between Unite the trade union and Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Council.

The areas most affected by the disruption have been Armagh city, Richhill, Tandragee, Markethill and Keady.

Local resident Barbara Donnelly standing in the street at Richill
Barbara Donnelly, described how piling up waste was attracting flies and wasps to her home

Local residents say the failure to collect brown bins in particular - containing food waste - has, for more than a month, been causing hygiene issues outside many homes.

Barbara Donnelly, who lives in Richhill, has described the situation as “a disgrace“.

Ms Donnelly described six or seven weeks as a "long wait" to have bins emptied.

"It's very hard to recycle stuff, if you can't get rid of it," she added.

Democratic Unionist Party alderman Gareth Wilson told BBC News NI he has had "hundreds of calls and messages about the impact this has had.

He said it could take “up to two weeks” to clear the backlog caused by the dispute.

The seven-week period of industrial action was sparked by the dismissal of one of the union's reps working at the council.

In a statement, a Unite the union said members at the Armagh depot "have voted to suspend a seven-week strike taken in response to the sacking of their union rep."

It added that the union will "pursue justice for its sacked shop steward through all available avenues."