Leaves in Kent are being cleared away from paths and roads and recycled.

Kew's country garden at Wakehurst Place, near Ardingly, is processing the leaves into a nutritious mould, which can be dug into the ground.

Dave Marchant, from Wakehurst Place, said: "The leaves would have ended-up in landfill sites.

"When the local authority offered them to us, we jumped at the chance to put sustainability into action, rather than filling up landfill tips with what is a highly-desirable garden mould."

'Dangerous mulch'

The council's contractor takes the leaves to Wakehurst where staff make the mould which can be used under acid-loving shrubs such as rhododendrons and azaleas.

Mr Marchant said: "It is important that the leaves are removed from paths and roadways before they turn into a slippery and dangerous mulch on the ground.

"And we need them before they become contaminated with salt and grit which is spread on the highway once the frosts come."

The team at Wakehurst Place uses specially-designed machinery, such as manure spreaders and shredders, to prepare the leaves.

Nature then helps to rot them down into a mould which can be used to benefit plants around parts of the 300-acre estate.