I FEEL that I must respond to the letter from Mr N Neale of Branksome Wood Road (Daily Echo, February 11).

He claims that there is ‘filth and litter everywhere’ and suggests that 9am on a Sunday morning is the time to put his complaints to the test.

Well, I walk through the town centre every Sunday morning at times varying between 8 and 10am and did so as usual this Sunday at 8.00am.

As normal there was hardly anybody about and I can confirm that the whole area was completely litter free.

That included the Square, Bourne Avenue, Richmond Hill, Old Christchurch Road, Westover Road and Gervis Place. They were all spotless.

The reason for this is because council staff are in the town centre from 6am every day 364 days a year, whatever the weather, to ensure the streets are pristine by the time most of us are out and about.

A huge effort goes in to ensure Bournemouth’s streets remain clean and litter free, and of course the results of other anti-social behaviour are also dealt with at the same time.

Cleansing goes on well into the evening when attention switches to managing the impact of the night time economy.

Crews are back to the town centre from 4pm and continue to clear up during the night until 12.30am every day. On call services then remain on standby throughout the night to attend to any debris on the highway and from road accidents or dead animals.

Of course all this litter comes from somewhere – mainly people behaving badly and expecting others to clear up their mess and so Enforcement Officers have issued over 2,800 fixed penalty notices for littering offences in the past year.

Bournemouth is a very busy place, but just take a look at the Gardens and the seven miles of Bournemouth’s beaches early every morning to judge whether a good job is being done in clearing up after they have been covered in debris by some of those using them the day before.

I hope Mr Neale will recognise that in Bournemouth our crews do a really great job. I can tell him that his remarks have been pretty demoralising to those who work tirelessly to clear up across the town so that we can all enjoy a clean and safe Bournemouth. I for one salute them for their never ending efforts.

Cllr John Beesley

Leader of Bournemouth council