A council in West Cumbria has been hit with a bill of more than £4,000 to clear asbestos.

Broughton Parish Council has been forced to spend £4,410 removing asbestos from two vacant plots on its allotment sites - one at Coldgill and one at The Nook.

A spokesman for the council, which has 93 allotments split over the two sites, said: "The council became aware of the problem around May time last year when two long-term tenants left their plots after tenancies of many years.

"A large amount of asbestos had been left on the plots, in buildings which it is believed were on the plots since before the transfer of land from the county council to Broughton Parish Council.

"The asbestos has been cleared from the empty plots prior to them being re-let to new tenants."

More asbestos is thought to be on the sites, in the form of hen runs, fencing or sheds.

Council chairman Sue Hannah said: "We do not believe that it is the very dangerous type of asbestos but, nevertheless, we are obliged to treat it with care.

"Also asbestos, we understand, is not dangerous until it is broken up so the asbestos in the current allotments is not an immediate risk.

"We are having it removed by specialist contractors as and when an allotment is made available.

"However, tenants can remove asbestos from their own plots, double plastic bag and seal it and take it for free down to the Workington waste disposal site. We would welcome them doing this of their own accord."

The parish council bought the allotments from the county council in 2006.