An increase in abuse to council staff and contractors have resulted in some services being suspended.

Maldon District Council have been forced to suspend services to some residents due to an increase in verbal abuse and physical threats to staff, including Customer Services staff and Refuse contractors.

A number of Waste Services have been suspended due to the abusive behaviour, one of which is an indefinite suspension and has led to police involvement.

Richard Homes, Director of Service Delivery and Head of Paid Service, said: "Whilst I appreciate the challenging times we have all faced, this does not excuse the abuse that our staff and contactors have recently experienced.

"We will not hesitate to deal with incidents of abuse, so please be kind to our staff and contractors who are trying to do their job."

The council said they will not tolerate unacceptable behaviour and any abusive calls will be terminated immediately and dealt with severely.