HYNDBURN residents are being urged not to put milk bottles in their blue recycling box for collection by the borough council.

Local milk distributors, who re-use the bottles returned to them, said since the authority launched its blue box kerbside collection scheme the number of bottles they got back had dropped.

Farmer Brenda Threlfall, of Holt Farm, Rishton, said it was costing her money to replace the bottles because they were not being returned to her.

She said: "I support the need to recycle, but I just want to remind people to send the bottles back to us rather than putting them in the blue box as it gets expensive having to keep replacing the bottles, so please send the bottles back to us, we need them!" Coun Ann Scaife, portfolio holder for the environment, said: "Our recycling rates in Hyndburn are really high - people seem to have really got the recycling bug.

"But we just wanted to gently remind everybody to send their milk bottles back to where they came from as it's the milk producers who are losing out here by having to replace the milk bottles."