A £1 MILLION fleet of dustbin lorries has been taken off the road a month after its introduction.

The action was taken after two of the lorries overturned last Thursday.

Wychavon District Council and its refuse collection contractors Focsa unveiled the fleet of 11 in October.

One lorry turned over on a roundabout near Worcester and another toppled over at the Hill and Moor Landfill site. Both were fully laden.

Both drivers went to hospital and a passenger in the accident at Hill and Moor was airlifted to Redditch's Alexandra Hospital. All three have since been released and at least one is understood to be back at work.

Sharon Casswell, Wychavon's principle client services officer, said both accidents involved new split-bodied lorries, which cost about £130,000 each and are designed to carry recyclable materials separately from other rubbish, from the district's villages and towns.

She said although the two accidents could have been coincidence, Focsa decided to withdraw all nine split-bodied models to investigate.

The lorries have a Scania chassis and waste containers manufactured by Spanish company Rosroca.

Focsa's operations director Tony Adamson would not comment on when the lorries were likely to return or the cause of the accidents.

He said Focsa was carrying out an investigation and Scania, Rosroca and the Fleet Transport Association would examine them.

Mr Adamson added: "We are surprised, we have similar vehicles operating in Spain and we've had no problems with them."

He added Focsa also operated similar vehicles in other parts of this country, although not as up-to-date as the model used in Wychavon, and all had been checked to ensure they met UK regulations.

Police were called to both accidents, and Miss Casswell said the Health and Safety Executive was told about the one at Hill and Moor, as it was on the tip's private road.

"Public and employee safety are our main concern and the lorries will not being going back on the roads until it's sorted out," she said.

Spare bin-lorries have been drafted in and additional vehicles hired, and Miss Casswell said she did not expect serious delays.