Despite public concerns over the impacts of four-weekly bin collections, Conwy County Borough Council has been commended by a national environment charity for its cleanliness.

In July, Keep Wales Tidy carried out an inspection of 118 of Conwy’s streets, with the county commended because 97.5 per cent of the inspected streets were graded B and above – streets considered by members of the public to have an acceptable level of cleanliness.

Keep Wales Tidy said overall standards of cleanliness in the area continue to be well above the national average recorded in Wales.

The authority is exceeding its cleanliness targets and is above levels recorded in the corresponding survey last year.

But litter from smoking continues to be an issue in the county. It was present on 72 per cent of streets surveyed, making it the biggest litter problem in Conwy.

Keep Wales Tidy has commended the authority for its cleanliness achievement.

Conwy’s cabinet member for environment, Cllr Don Milne, said: “We know that the cleanliness of our environment is of great importance to Conwy residents and it’s a priority for the council.

“We call on the people of Conwy to keep playing their part in keeping the streets of Conwy clean, and urge members of the public to report incidents affecting the cleanliness of the county.

“I’d like to thank the staff for all the effort they put into their work, often in difficult weather conditions. This is the 12th survey to have taken place and this result shows Conwy is taking these responsibilities seriously. Well done.”

Four-weekly bin collections were introduced after Keep Wales Tidy visited in July.