COUNCILLORS in Blaenau Gwent have described a drop in the number of litter fines reported in the authority last year as “disappointing”.

Fines issued by Kingdom for littering and dog fouling offences fell by more than half from 1,631 in 2016/17 to 761 in 2017/18.

Complaints rose by more than two thirds while the firm struggled to retain all four of its litter officers throughout the year.

Labour councillor Tim Sharrem said Kingdom was no longer on top of the issue they first started tackling on behalf of the council in 2013.

“I am very disappointed because when this was brought in we had a visible force,” Cllr Sharrem told the regeneration and environment scrutiny committee on Thursday.

“But now I can’t remember the last phone call I had from someone with regards to litter or dog fouling. I don’t think the community thinks we’re still doing this job.”

Environmental protection manager Andrew Long said last year’s performance was a “blip” caused mainly by staff retention issues.

The meeting heard that litter enforcement was a “confrontational” and “stressful” job which leads to a high staff turnover.

Mr Long added: “These officers are out there but they’ve got to be a bit smarter about how they catch offenders.”

Independent councillor Godfrey Thomas said enforcement had “gone off the boil” and called for the council to make the public more aware of the issue and enforcement.

He added: “Do people know how many tonnes of dog mess we pick up in a month? No, but they’d be shocked if they did.”

Matthew Perry, community services manager, said up to a tonne of dog waste is picked up each week but Labour councillor John C Morgan said: “It’s the amount we don’t pick up that concerns me.”

Independent councillor Phil Edwards, committee chair, asked if efficiency comparisons could be made with councils which had cancelled their contracts with Kingdom.

Councillors were told that issues relating to the company in local authorities – mainly in north Wales – arose from local campaigning rather than financial inefficiencies.

The figures will be presented to the council’s executive committee at a future meeting.