BREAKING: Recycling centres shut down immediately after police action

The council said the decision had been made after visitors ignored coronavirus safety advice.

And one member of bin staff has also contracted the disease.

This morning, police shut down Warren Vale Recycling Centre in Rawmarsh and Carr Hill in Greasbrough over congestion concerns. Centres in Bramley and North Anston have now been closed by the council.

Tom Smith, RMBC's assistant director for community safety and streetscene, said all household waste recycling centres would close with immediate effect, adding: "There has been a large volume of visitors to the household waste recycling centres in recent days, bringing in non-essential waste and ignoring the instructions of on-site staff.

"This has made it impossible for the sites to maintain safe social distancing rules and has left us with no other choice but to close all sites for the immediate future.

"Given the volume of traffic queuing at Warren Vale and Car Hill, South Yorkshire Police also expressed concerns around congestion and ordered the closure of two of the sites this morning."

Cllr Emma Hoddinott, RMBC's cabinet member for waste, roads and community safety, had warned that sites could be shut down if people overused them. She later revealed a bin staff employee had contracted coronavirus.