Merton’s firefighters have warned against the growing problem of nuisance bonfires.

Following complaints from residents, fire crews have been forced to put out several fires started to dispose of garden waste.

A London Fire Brigade spokesman said: “This is a real problem, particularly because there’s no need to dispose of hedge cuttings or cut grass in this way.

“It smokes out neighbours’ homes and wastes a lot of the fire brigade’s time. There was a bonfire in South Wimbledon last week that was generating an unbelievable amount of smoke across the whole area.”