Allerdale council is to suspend the collection of garden waste from Monday.

The council said the decision was made reluctantly, however it is necessary to protect other collections, such as domestic waste, during the coronavirus outbreak.

Not collecting green waste will free up crews and vehicles to meet core service priorities.

Glass, cans and plastic, paper and cardboard, trade waste and household waste collections are all unaffected by the decision.

The suspension is in place until further notice but the council aims to resume collections as soon as possible. The situation will be reviewed in June.

The move brings Allerdale in line with Copeland Borough Council and Carlisle City Council, which have both already halted their green waste collections.

The authority is encouraging home composting as an alternative option while this suspension is place. One option is to use a compost bin which can be purchased from getcomposting.com/composters/ at a reduced cost.

A council spokesman said: “We apologise to everyone affected by this and hopefully this is only a temporary measure and you understand that the council is doing what it can to limit the impact of this serious situation on the public.

"As it is becoming more widespread, and we know more people will need to self-isolate and/or will contract the virus we are determined to deliver the best service we can. We have taken this decision to safeguard our residents, staff, the community and other collections.”

The council's deputy leader Mike Johnson said: “‘We all have a part to play in slowing the spread on COVID-19. Government has been quite clear on the measures that we should take as a local authority, as an employer, and as an embedded community resource.

“For Allerdale Borough Council that means freeing up resources to both allow for staff isolation, and to help with the wider community response over the coming weeks. We are asking residents to play their part in reducing the burden on our staff.”

In addition to the suspension, a decision has also been taken to delay the introduction of charging for replacement bins. That was due to begin next week.