Wirral Council has reduced the cost of it's brown bin service as a result of disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Residents will be able to sign up for fortnightly garden waste collections at a reduced rate of £32.20 when the new subscription window opens next month.

Those who wish to take up the offer will be able to sign up or renew their subscription from July 21 to receive collections from August 25, 2020 – May 31, 2021.

The subscription period is shorter than in previous years after delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, but it means the price has fallen by more than £10 - down from £43.

Cllr Julie McManus, Wirral’s Cabinet Member for Community Services said: "Although this is a shorter subscription year than we’re used to, I hope the reduced price will encourage more residents to sign up for this great value service.

"Lockdown and warm weather has given people time to enjoy their gardens again and paying to have your brown bin emptied means you can dispose of your garden waste conveniently, without having to queue at the tip.

"I’m also really pleased to announce the introduction of our Direct Debit payment option, which will mean subscribers can choose to sign up once and not have to worry about another renewal process or missing the deadline."

The cost to have an additional or second garden waste (brown) bin at one property emptied has also been reduced by £5 to just £20 for the year.

Subscriptions to the service should be made online or by phone with a yearly Direct Debit payment option now available to avoid subscribers having to sign up every year.

To pay by Direct Debit, residents will need to use their free MyWirral account. Residents who do not have a MyWirral account can create one on the Wirral Council website.

Until August 25, bins will only be collected from homes who subscribed last year, as crews works to catch up on collections missed due to the suspension of the service earlier in the year.