Binmen who held a sit-in last year are being hailed as heroes by their union colleagues tonight.

Staff at Hollingdean depot in Brighton will receive a commemorative lamp from the local trades council, the highest honour it can bestow.

The members of the GMB union took their action after being sacked by private contractors Sita.

After that, Brighton and Hove City Council took the refuse and street cleaning services back in-house.

Since that happened, there has been a general improvement in the cleanliness of the city although there are still some problems.

The public, who are having to pay millions more each year in council tax, will only agree with the award if the better service is sustained.