Hundreds of pounds of tax payers' cash could be kept by a Lincolnshire council after it scrapped a charge for bin collections.

Around 13, 800 households in the West Lindsey area used to pay an up-front annual fee to have their green garden waste bin collected.

Now the region's district council has made the service free of charge and has rolled it out to all 40,000 homes.

But anyone who has already paid £24.50 to get their bin collected for 12 months is unlikely to be able to claim the cash back.

A spokesman for West Lindsey District Council said the introduction of free green bin garden waste collections had been "enthusiastically received" by residents.

But he acknowledged there had been some issues with people who believed they were entitled to a refund.

Retired Peter Hyde, 60, from Saxilby, said he thought it was unfair the council was not automatically refunding residents.

"I paid around seven months ago, which means the council effectively owes me for the next five months," he said.

"I realise it's not much money – maybe only eight or nine pounds – but when you add up what they owe everyone it soon mounts up.

"If I owed them they would be quick to come after me, I bet."