VOLUNTEER litter pickers say they’re worried about Swindon Council’s newfound emphasis on getting communities more involved in their own services, writes BARRIE HUDSON.

Or to put it another way: “Getting you to do the stuff you pay us for, while still paying us for the stuff you are now doing.”

It’s not the council’s fault that they’re being bled from Westminster like an unwilling guest at Dracula’s castle, of course, but I wonder where all this will lead.

At the moment there are concerns about things like litter, but where will we be in a couple of years’ time?

I’m just waiting for the day the council has to start issuing press releases saying: “In order to promote ever more community engagement with the local environment, any member of the public reporting a faulty street lamp will be issued with a ladder, some insulated gloves and a selection of spares.”