WHEN so much effort and hard work goes into attracting visitors to Ludlow, why present visitors with a spectacle of fast food wrappings, bottles, cigarette packets etc festooned across the streets?

The mountain of litter that was spread across Lower Galdeford, Tower Street, King Street on Saturday night was still there to greet Sunday's visitors. This made a poor impression on visitors and provided a source of embarrassment to residents.

Whilst accepting that people shouldn't drop litter and shop keepers could do much more; if anyone had actually wanted to deposit litter from Saturday afternoon onwards they wouldn't have been able to find a litter bin that wasn't already overflowing.

More resource and more effort is needed in this area if Ludlow is to be taken seriously as a leading tourist centre. It wouldn't happen in continental Europe; where the streets would be cleaned and washed down several times during a major festival. Nor is it a problem restricted to Festival weekends. Ludlow may be first class when it comes to visitor attractions - but it is definitely third world on the cleanliness front.

As for dogs fouling the pavement - this is another major problem. Where are the notices, the warnings and special bins? I am a dog owner myself - but dog owners need to remember that they have responsibilities to other people. The council also have responsibility to take appropriate action but they seen as prone to inertia on this problem as they do with regard to the litter.

Ian Lomax,

Friars Gardens,

Lower Galdeford,

Ludlow.