A recycling service will soon be introduced across a city.

Brighton and Hove City Council is to provide all homes with recycling crates for paper, glass, cans and other materials which will be regularly collected from outside homes.

It is hoped the scheme will boost lower than average recycling figures for the city compared to similar councils in England.

Statistics published today show the council recycled 11 per cent of household waste last year, a third of the amount processed by South Coast seaside resort rival, Bournemouth.

The figure was slightly less than the average amount of waste recycled by other English unitary authorities.

A council spokeswoman said: "Other local authorities like Southampton provide this kind of service but have still been placed below us. We are confident this collection service will improve our figures."

She said the scheme would be introduced as a pilot project later in the year, but it had not yet been decided how many homes would initially take part.

She said: "We have 100 recycling sites in Brighton and Hove with a range of materials and we also have two household recycling centres, which have been improved.

"We have done fairly well considering we do not yet have a kerbside service."