South Oxfordshire or Vale of White Horse residents subscribed to the district council's garden waste service will be offered a free collection of extra waste later this month.

The collection will take place between April 15 and 26 on resident's normal collection day.

The waste, which must only include natural garden waste such as cut grass, plants, or branches, should be placed in standard sized (60 litre) sacks or boxes.

Residents are instructed not to use tonne builders’ waste bags as crews will not collect from them.

Residents may put out a maximum of four additional sacks per brown bin subscription.

Councillor Sue Cooper, cabinet member for environment at South Oxfordshire District Council said: "With the days getting longer, people will be spending more time in the garden.

"If you have cuttings from overgrown plants and trees and you’re not able to compost them at home, this is a great opportunity for a tidy up and to have them collected."

Councillor Mark Coleman, cabinet member for environmental services and waste at Vale of White Horse District Council, said: "Before putting your extra garden waste out, remember to check you are using the correct sacks or containers.

"Our crews can’t collect any waste left in re-enforced sacks, so please don’t leave those out."

The collected garden waste will be transformed into compost at a facility near Wallingford.

The compost is later sold to farmers for use in their fields.