BIN lorries from as far afield as Manchester have been sent to Weymouth to replace those destroyed in a huge waste depot fire, council bosses have revealed - as they thanked companies and other councils for their offers of help.

More than 90 firefighters were called when flames ripped through Crookhill waste depot in Chickerell last Sunday,

In total, 16 collection vehicles for rubbish, recycling and garden waste - and five vehicles used for cleansing and maintenance - were destroyed or heavily damaged by the blaze, causing bin collections to be suspended on Monday.

Black bin rubbish collections did resume on Tuesday after Dorset Council hired four vehicles to go alongside those that they borrowed from other depots in the existing council fleet.

A further three 26-ton split body bin lorries from Northampton, Manchester and Chepstow are also being used.

Tim Woolford, Dorset Council's service manager for fleet services, said: "Fortunately, after the fire on Sunday we were able to hit the ground running on Monday morning and make arrangements for the delivery of hire vehicles into Crookhill.

"So far, we have hired three 26 ton refuse collection vehicles and a smaller 16 ton vehicle. These, along with vehicles in the existing Dorset Council fleet that have been borrowed from other depots, have enabled us to resume the collection of black bin rubbish on Tuesday, November 17.

"We have also received messages via email and social media from hire companies offering their services, and over the past few days we have also had offers of support from other local authorities as well as local businesses and kind individuals, which is very much appreciated.

"It is nice to know that our community values the services we provide and wants to help.

"I'd like to thank everyone involved at Dorset Council for their help in getting services back on track so quickly - the temporary measures will help us stay on top of Weymouth and Portland's waste.

"But please be aware we don't currently have a lot of spare capacity in the fleet so there may still be service disruptions if we have any vehicle breakdowns, and we're currently unable to return for any missed rubbish and recycling collections."

An investigation into the cause of the fire is still ongoing.