The ghastly problem of rats running around the streets of Brighton and Hove is mainly the result of Brighton and Hove City Council asking people to leave their rubbish on the pavement in plastic bags.

As we all know, if there is food in a rubbish bag left out overnight, the bag will be torn open by urban foxes, gulls, rats or cats.

Rubbish should at all times be in rubbish bins with proper lids.

Ten years behind most of western Europe, our council starts collecting paper for recycling - only paper, mind you, no tins or glass.

The recycling contract is not given to Magpie, which has successfully collected and recycled different materials in Brighton and Hove for a long time.

In other countries, councils also collect separately all food scraps that can be turned into compost, thereby reducing the need for landfill sites and the purchase of expensive fertilisers for their parks.

The lack of understanding of basic cleanliness and hygiene displayed by our local government for years is very distressing for many residents and incomprehensible in a city where tourism plays an important part.

-Liv Seabrook, Surrenden Road, Brighton