Cancelled bin collections will not be replaced meaning that residents must wait another two weeks for their rubbish to be collected.

Properties in Huncoat and East Accrington had their refuse collection scrapped today due to severe snowfall and fears over safety.

Council bosses say that another collection cannot be coordinated due to timings and costs - and it is more effective to wait until the next scheduled collection - Friday, March 18.

Collections were suspended this morning as blizzard conditions caused havoc across the borough.

Council leader Miles Parkinson said: “Collection delayed due to adverse weather conditions this morning, many of the staff couldn’t come in and also for safety aspects. Even though the weather has changed in the afternoon it wasn’t viable to put on collection later in the day.

“So unfortunately for those areas they’ll have to wait for the next collection in a fortnight’s time.

“To collect it on another day only gets so many people putting it out, in order to collect we need to keep a normal collection time.

“Where we have tried to collect it on another day there’s still not everything been collected.

“The vast majority of services will be unaffected.”

For refuse, Huncoat, most of Peel, Burnley Road and half of Bold Street will be affected.

For recycling, parts of Church - lower Dill Hall Lane areas of Church - parts of Blackburn Road corridor and Milnshaw will have to wait a fortnight for recycling to be collected.

Huncoat ward councillor Eamonn Higgins said he had been dealing with complaints from residents.

He said: “Due to the weather this morning, the employees can’t make it into the council. The day’s bin wagons haven’t gone out. I’ve been inundated with angry residents whose bins haven’t been emptied and won’t be emptied for a fortnight. My bins aren’t being collected either. Unfortunately there is nothing the council can do apart from taking extra bin bags out at the next collection.”

A council spokesperson said that 4,000 text messages were sent to residents affected by the waste and recycling disruption, information was on the website and was also tweeted.

They said: “We have made a personal call and spoken to almost all the affected assisted collection residents.”

Great Harwood, Rishton and Clayton-le-Moors are unaffected.

Council mechanical sweepers were out cleaning snow off the roads and parks work could not go ahead, but park staff were reassigned to the cemetery to make sure that roads and car parks were clear at the crematorium.

All other services were operating as normal.