BAMBOO canes and a Kilmarnock Willow were part of a gardening claim totalling almost £2,000 put in by Eastleigh MP Chris Huhne.

The Lib Dem paid out more than £160 a month to the company that specialises in landscape, design and construction.

For this the taxpayer treated him to bamboo canes and a Kilmarnock Willow in the garden of his second pad.

In addition to the £1975.80 he claimed in gardening expenses he also got £815.27 back for cleaning, paying around £15 an hour.

Mr Huhne said that since the retrospective change in the rules, capping gardening expenses at £1,000, he has paid back all the money he owed.

These figures are taken from receipts of his additional cost allowance claims 2008/09 released today.

In the first quarter of this year he has put in cleaning and gardening claims totalling £257.60.

However, he did put in a £1,512.67 for maintenance and services of his house which included repairing a doorbell, having his shed painted, having brass door numbers put up and refixing towels holders in his en-suite bathroom.

These figures came from his Personal Additional Accommodation Expenses.

While he claimed for utility bills no claims for food, mortgage payments or hotels were made.

Mr Huhne came under fire earlier in the year when it emerged he had claimed £119 for a trouser press and put in for fluffy dusters, cup of tea and biscuits.

Since the MP expenses scandal hit he agreed to pay back money for the trouser press.