THIS was the first impression Huddersfield did not want to give to the crowds arriving for the first day of the Mrs Sunderland Music Festival.

So The Examiner decided to test Kirklees Council's rapid response litter team - and they came up trumps!

As soon as we rang cleansing manager Paul Whittaker his team were on the case.

He said: "We have two teams that cover the whole of Kirklees. They respond as quickly as possible to this sort of problem.

"They can deal with anything from fly-tipping to litter like the problem we have near the multi- storey car park in the town centre.

"They cover Huddersfield and Dewsbury town centres for part of the time and the districts for the remainder."

Mr Whittaker, based at the cleansing HQ in Vine Street, Hillhouse, said some waste was more difficult to deal with than discarded takeaway boxes and cigarette ends. "We would use the rapid response team if we get a call about discarded medical waste, such as hypodermic needles," he said.

"For things like that we obviously drop everything and get there as quickly as we can, because it is not safe to just leave the waste.

"For normal calls about litter we don't have any set target times. We find it is better to get it done as quickly as possible. That would usually mean the next day.

"Our teams are the unsung heroes who keep the town centres and surrounding villages tidy.

"But we can't be everywhere at once, so if the public know about something we don't they should get in touch so we can sort it out," said Mr Whittaker.

To report a litter problem, phone Ross Street Care on 0800 731 8765.