A Weymouth town centre litter bin destroyed in a fire will not be replaced – because its absence will help with social distancing.

The bin outside WHSmith in St Thomas Street melted to the ground after catching fire.

The fire service attended but does not know the cause of the fire - and police say they have no reason to believe it was started deliberately.

Public litter bins in the town centre are provided by Weymouth Town Council and are emptied by Dorset Council, although the town council pointed out it should be a joint effort to install a replacement.

However in this case, the town council has no plans to replace the bin because officials say the extra space on the pavement will help with social distancing.

The fire broke out in the middle of the afternoon towards the end of June.

A Weymouth Town Council spokesman said: "Weymouth Town Council works in partnership with Dorset Council on the siting of bins in the town centre, as Weymouth Town Council is not the landowner.

"We were saddened to hear that one of the 40 bins in the town centre was destroyed. The bin is not currently being replaced as there is another bin only five metres away, and the gap created will assist with social distancing at this time when the town centre is getting busier.

"We will review this decision when the current crisis has passed.”

A spokesman for Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "We received a call about a fire involving a waste bin on St Thomas Street, Weymouth.

"One crew from Weymouth attended and extinguished the fire using one hose reel jet. The bin was totally destroyed by fire."

Police were notified of the fire soon afterwards - the force assessed the situation but did not attend.

"It was reported that the fire service had extinguished the fire and the local authority was attending to clear the debris and there was no requirement for officers, a spokesman said.

"There is no indication that it was suspicious."