I RECENTLY observed several employees of Swindon Services hand-picking paper, plastic food containers, cans and bottles (some smashed) from hedges and coppices in the Shaw area.

This was a much needed but labour-intensive and expensive operation which is a direct charge on the council tax.

Shame on you, Swindon residents! You are living in one of the untidiest towns in England. It is not only the children, many parents fail to set a good example by failing to use litter bins or to take their rubbish home.

The contents of plastic litter bins are also frequently set on fire by vandals. In my home town, Ipswich, the council uses concrete pipes, painted green, in public parks. These are too heavy to move, are cheap, fireproof and hold a vast amount of litter before needing emptying.

I should add that my wife and I never throw litter around and taught our children to behave likewise. Would that all parents did the same.

G THEODORE HEATH

Clarke Drive, Shaw