A volunteer has pleaded with users of the peninsula's tip and recycling centre to abide by social distancing and safety rules, following incidents of abuse and threats.

Alan Nunn, who runs the community facility between Chelmondiston and Shotley, has been appalled at the recent spike in verbal attacks on him and another volunteer, who was threatened by a man with a piece of wood with nails sticking out.

"I'm not putting up with that," Alan told Nub News. "The vast majority of people who use the tip appreciate what we do and say so. But just recently we have had incidents with people who do not want to abide by the measures put in place to protect the public and the volunteers.

"We have had abuse and threats thrown at us and my colleague was threatened with a lump of wood with nails in it just because he asked him to wait his turn."

While the rest of Suffolk and north Essex closed all their recycling centres, Alan kept the tip on the Main Road open so locals could use it.

He stayed in his van to oversee proceedings and relied on an honesty box for people to put their money in to enable the centre to stay open. However, not everyone paid their fair share and the tip was running at a loss.

It costs more than £600 for the skips to be delivered, collected and taken away and due to lockdown it has been used more than ever. However, some of the recycling fees which help cover the costs are down, so paying the amount asked is even more important for the tip's viability.

Clear signage is in place asking that no more than two cars pull into the site at any one time; people should remain two metres apart and avoid contact.

It is also imperative for people to be patient and to follow instructions given by the volunteers to ensure the safe and efficient running of the centre.