More than 3,000 residents have agreed to pay for the council’s garden waste collection service despite the free service being scrapped last year due to budget cuts.

Merton Council said 3,170 customers have now signed up to the scheme, which is £65 for a full year and £50 for pensioners, since the free service was axed in May to save £227,000.

The council's leader, Councillor Stephen Alambritis, admitted the scrapping of the free garden waste scheme was the most complained about issue after his administration made £24m spending cuts in this year’s budget.

From December 1, residents can still sign up for the remaining half of the year for £30, for which they will receive collections every fortnight without having to contact the council each time.

Residents who sign up will get a brown wheelie bin, which holds 240 litres of garden waste, or paper sacks with a 75 litre capacity.

Councillor Andrew Judge, cabinet member for environmental sustainability and regeneration, said: “The large numbers of customers signed up shows that this is a valued service for our residents.

“Now is a great time for residents to sign up for the rest of the year and take the stress out of their garden waste collection.”

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