After the rush for the sales, today brought another annual tradition – the long queue for the tip.

As households cleared out the wrappings and trappings of Christmas, cars trailed back from dumps across the region.

Queues started to build up early at council tips including Bloxwich and Stourbridge, which opened at 8am.

But Wolverhampton’s tip had a “lie-in”, not opening until 10am.

First in the queue at Stourbridge’s Birmingham Street facility, run by Dudley Council, was Steven Clarke, aged 45, who arrived just after 7am. There was also a number of cars waiting at Bloxwich’s tip when it opened at 8am.

“Last year the queues were horrendous – I came three times but gave up and went home,” said Mr Clarke, of Seymour Road, Stourbridge, who runs a small transport business. The boot is full of empty boxes and wrapping paper and I’ve just chilled out reading the paper in my car waiting.” Richard Jackson, 45, of Dobbins Oak Road, Pedmore, Stourbridge, and his son-in-law Marcus Henshaw, 34, of Birch Avenue, Quarry Bank, joined forces to take their rubbish in a shared van, arriving at about 7.15am.

Mr Jackson said: “The queue was right round the ring road last year so we decided to get it out of the way early today.”

Tip staff prepared for one of their busiest days of the year, with the workforce boosted from six to eight people.