DOG droppings in the Faithful City appears no longer to be a problem thanks to improved dog litter collections by Worcester City Council.

Overflowing dog bins and official complaints about canine mess has ceased following the recent appointment of new full-time collector and cleansing employee, Trevor Tongue.

Mr Tongue mans a £15,000 dog-bin wash, spray and collection vehicle, which empties more than 130 bins in key Worcester locations at least once a week.

The impact has been so great, Roger Knight, chairman of St Peter's Parish Council even wrote to the city leaders last week expressing the parish's appreciation for the vast improvements in the service.

"The bins are emptied on a regular basis and we've not had them overflowing," said Mr Knight.

Mr Knight said more than three months ago bins were not emptied regularly, and they would be over-flowing.

"Idiots would throw the dog bags into trees," he said.

Mike Harrison, head of environmental services, said the council received frequent complaints when the cleansing employee only worked two days a week.

"We were providing more bins than we could cope with, and that person couldn't get round them all," he said.

Around three months ago, the service expanded to five days a week.

"We've had no complaints since," said Mr Harrison.

"I think it's fair to say that as a result of recent initiatives, the dog bin collection service has been turned round from a poorly-performed sector into one of the city's most recent success stories, with the dog-owning public generally responding quite sensibly."

Bylaws require the person in charge of a dog to pick up and adequately dispose of their dog's excrement or face a fine of up to £1,000.