Heaps of rubbish spilled onto the streets after dedicated Passover skips were misused by some residents.

Refuse collectors struggled to keep up with demand as more than 150 tons of waste were piled into 17 skips across the borough between April 16 and 18.

Barnet Council provides the service annually in the days preceding Passover for the Jewish community to dispose of chametz - food or drink containing grain that has been in contact with water.

But many residents used it as an opportunity to throw out general waste. The operation cost £14,000 and back-up refuse vehicles were sent out 70 times to clear overspills.

A council spokesman said: "The skips were well-used by the community to clear chametz from their homes. Unfortunately, they have been subject to misuse and some people have dumped piles of builders' waste, bulky household goods, furniture and other items we ask skip users not to dump."

Michael Peters, who lives in Wykeham Road, Hendon, found rubbish strewn across his road. He said: "It is a shame people are take advantage of the service and abusing the facility, which made it an eyesore.

"People were dropping rubbish off as late as 1am and if the skip wasn't there, they just left it."

Councillor Brian Gordon, who helped establish the service nine years ago, believes the skips are invaluable to the Jewish community.

"Residents are well-served by the skips. A lot of people use them and it is very admirable the council provides them.

"But some people may take a slight advantage of the service and have used it to get rid of non-Passover rubbish.

"It is the time of year when a lot of spring cleaning goes on around the home and the service is much-needed, but you can't have someone stationed by the skips 24 hours a day or overnight."

The council said the service would be reassessed with a view to possibly finding alternative solutions for next year.

m The Passover festival celebrates the freeing of Israelites from slavery in Egypt, when people were said to have fled their homes before their bread had time to rise. Jews remove all chametz from their homes and abstain from eating or owning any such product during the eight days of Passover.