91�ȱ�

A council has been urged to sever its ties with a firm that issues litter fines amid claims it has breached its contract.

Wrexham Council says Kingdom Services is only providing one operative when there should be between two and four.

Authorities in Flintshire, Denbighshire and Anglesey chose not to renew contracts with the firm while another in Gwynedd, ended after a day.

The firm has been contacted for comment.

Wrexham is the only authority in north Wales still employing the firm.

It has led to calls from Plaid Cymru to the independently-run council to take action.

"The fact that they are not adhering to the contract terms confirms they are not interested in doing the job properly," councillor Marc Jones said.

"After two years our streets are no cleaner. We can't wait any longer."

Councils previously using Kingdom saw the number of fines issued skyrocket.

But Flintshire, which cited "overbearing behaviour", later terminated its contract with the firm, as did Denbighshire and Anglesey. Gwynedd cancelled by mutual consent due to "operational issues".

Last month, Mr Jones put forward a motion to end the Wrexham arrangement which was rejected by the council's executive board.

"The company says that due to 'recruitment issues' and 'staff leaving', there is just one operative left," he said.

"As that is breaking the contract [it] should be terminated with the 28-day notice period."

The authority has set up a cross-party group to review the situation and is expected to report back in the autumn.

Councillor David Bithell, lead member for environment, said he was aware of the concerns raised and no decision would be made until the group has given its feedback.

Meanwhile, a protest is due to be held on 8 September to highlight opposition to the Merseyside-based business.