Stroud district residents are the best in England at not chucking rubbish to landfill or incineration - but their council is now paying over £1m more for its waste contract than planned.

Government stats for 2017/18 also show Stroud District Council has come top in the South West for recycling, with success partly attributed to its switch to Ubico as its waste contractor in 2016.

But, as revealed to councillors at a meeting last week, the council is paying £1.2m more than expected for its £5m annual waste contract this year.

Income from the district's recycling performance has helped to offset the mounting costs to £0.6m, however, and a council spokesperson has stressed: “We are adjusting the budget to meet the costs of that service.

"This year we have worked with Ubico to prepare a budget well in advance of the new financial year.”

The council has embarked on several 'efficiency measures' in the hope of creating more financial headspace in light of the waste overspend. 

One of these was reducing the frequency with which it cleaned the district's toilets - read more here: bit.ly/2SRk0Vm