Residents across Greenwich borough have been asked to not sweep their leaves into the streets as it creates extra work for the council.

From the beginning of October Greenwich Council has dedicated leafing teams who support regular street cleaners to clear pavements and roads from fallen leaves.

With 14,500 trees of 120 different species creating 75 tonnes of leaves across the borough, the leaf clean-up is a major and complex task according to Greenwich Council so they have asked locals to help.

This is why locals have been asked to not sweep leaves from their driveways into the streets and create extra work for these leaf sweepers.

Cllr Jackie Smith, cabinet member for community safety and environment said: “Greenwich looks glorious in the autumn as it has a high number of trees. However, it is a major challenge for our teams to keep the pavements and roads clear of leaves.

“The task is huge and last year our cleaning teams cleared up roughly 75 tonnes of leaves during the season.”

“We have dedicated teams in place and we will be working to a schedule to target all of the roads in the borough. Due to the large amount of roads that will need sweeping there may be some disruption to our service and so we would appreciate residents’ patience during the leafing season. “

“We are asking residents to help us by not sweeping leaves from their gardens and driveways out onto the public highway, but to dispose of them as garden waste in their green top bins.”