Half a tonne of apples have been pressed and made into 12 gallons of cider with the help of a team of cheerful volunteers.

The back garden of The Lamb, Brighton Road, was a hive of activity as members of Abundance Kingston chopped cookers and eaters, then mashed them through a cider press.

It took three weeks to ferment, with Toni Izard, who spearheads the harvesting, hoping it will be served at a future community event.

“Anything to save waste; that’s the real key,” said Toni, who helped residents pick apples across the Surbiton area.

“We want to save the apples from landfill,” she said. “We used about 50:50 cookers and eaters to get the right balance of sweetness. We use the natural yeast on the apples; you get a series of fermentations giving you greater character and variety of flavour.”

Meanwhile her fresh apple juice proved a hit at Surbiton farmers’ markets.