WHILE the endeavours of Wirral Council's policy to maintain  cleanliness on the streets is generally commendable, their contracting-out of this function to a private company has had grotesque consequences.

There is naturally a conflict between a company and its employees endeavouring to optimise profits and bonuses and the deplorable manner in which it treats the public.

For a council barely able to provide 15 minutes home-help coverage for elderly vulnerable residents but to deploy pairs of privately-employed staff to hide in bushes and sit endlessly in shopping car parks is a shocking development.

Spied on by numerous cameras and spied on by dark-clad civilians seeking to maximise their earnings, we are the victims of a hideous misuse of powers and these enforcers act with impunity.

JCE Moore, Neston.