Huge queues of rubbish-laden cars trying to get into the local tip were avoided in Swindon.

The borough council announced last week it would be reopening the Waterside Park household waste and recycling centre in Cheney Manor yesterday.

And a stringent booking system appears to have worked as long waits – such as those witnessed in Bristol and Stafford – were not experienced by visitors on day one.

An hour after the centre opened its doors for the first time in eight weeks, one of the workers told the Adver: “It’s been quite busy but steady because people have stuck to their pre-booked appointments, with a few being a bit early, and we’ve been checking them off on our lists, so it’s been good.”

A row of yellow signs and traffic cones cordoned off much of the left lane of Cheney Manor Road, which connects the roundabouts of the industrial estate and the household waste centre, nudging drivers who were not dropping off waste into the middle of the road.

Though the length of the cordoned-off lane suggests that long queues were expected, in reality there was no more than one car at a time arriving at the site and far more driving onwards towards Akers Way.

A group of council employees in high-vis jackets and face masks stopped each driver to check if they had an appointment.

Councillor Maureen Penny, the council’s cabinet member for transport and the environment, said: “I am delighted that yesterday we successfully managed to partially re-open the household waste recycling centre for residents.

"More than 270 cars and vans visited the site and queues were kept to a bare minimum throughout the day thanks to our new trial system.

“Where other councils experienced problems when they partially reopened their recycling centres, we seem to have bucked the trend, and with the aid of our online booking system we were able to ensure the re-opening was managed safely and efficiently.

“I would like to issue a personal thank you to the staff at Waterside Park who have worked incredibly hard to put this temporary system in place and to ensure it runs smoothly and also to members of the public who attended and supported our staff.”

If you do want to get to the recycling centre then you need to be prepared. All the slots are now booked up until the end of next Wednesday, May 27. Slots are available between 10am and 4pm for next Thursday will open at 10am today (May 21).

Only residents of the borough of Swindon will be allowed to book a slot – and there are restrictions on what can be taken to the tip.

Access is from Rodbourne Road only with no route to the site from Akers Way. Vans will be asked to use a different area to the site to cars and the loads of rubbish will be inspected by council workers to make sure it is household waste and not industrial or trade waste.

A full list of what you can take to the recycling centre is available at swindon.gov.uk

The council says it is keeping its arrangement under review and when the government advice allows, it hopes to open the site more comprehensively.