BURY Council yesterday lost the latest round of the Battle of the Bins - but has vowed not to stop give up the fight.

The Appeal Court yesterday rejected the council's appeal over the row which began when they awarded the contract to empty the borough's bins to the in-house tender, Bury Competitive Services.

In 1996 the Conservative Government ordered the council to re-tender for the contract, saying that competitors were denied vital information when preparing their bids.

Bury appealed against the decision of then environment secretary John Selwyn Gummer, but have now lost two court battles to get his decision reversed.

Anxious officials waited all day to hear the judgement - and were disappointed when it finally arrived after 5pm.

Mr Stan Monaghan, director of corporate resources at Bury Council, said: "We have lost the appeal and have also been refused leave to appeal against that decision."

They will now have to put the contract out to tender immediately after the Court refused to grant them a stay on the retendering.

"However, we are taking further legal advice in respect of a petition to the House of Lords in order to pursue the case further," Mr Monaghan added.

Council legal staff will this morning discuss the case with top barristers before deciding on their next move.

The council says the winning in-house bid was £1 million a year cheaper than its nearest rivals. It also faces legal bills running into six figures if it loses the case.

Before this month's hearing council leader Derek Boden said: "The original contract win brought us £5 million savings over five years. We are not prepared to see that taken from us without a fight."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.