Perth and Kinross Council has been criticised for a lack of action in tackling a littering issue on its own doorstep.
Just a week after the council was slammed for failing to hand out a single litter fine in the past 12 months, a local councillor said they needed to look closer to home.
The ground surrounding the council headquarters, which is currently undergoing a £9.7 million revamp, is covered with debris, including a large number of cigarette butts.
A spokeswoman for Perth and Kinross Council said the problem was caused by members of the public, rather than nearby workmen, saying they were helping keep the area clean.
However local councillor Willie Wilson said more needed to be done to tackle the problem.
He said: “A good example of a lack of action by the council in dealing with kerbside litter is right outside the headquarters building in the High Street.
“The Watergate is littered with cigarette ends and other items adjacent to the building works currently in progress to renovate the High Street building.
“There are fag ends all along the Watergate from the plumbers to the High Street.
“The concentration of litter is far higher than elsewhere in surrounding streets and I think that action really needs to be taken to deal with this much more effectively in future.
“This could include issuing spot fines and warning letters.”
A spokeswoman for Perth and Kinross Council said: “Council work sites, including those run by contractors, are no smoking areas.
“Officers from the council have visited the site and are satisfied that the contractors are keeping the site tidy.
“There does appear to be an issue of dropped cigarette butts by members of the public in the vicinity of licensed premises in the area.”
Last week The Courier revealed that no warnings of fines had been issued in the last year, despite the council admitting that littering costs them more than £2 million a year to clean up.
It has also admitted to moving away from enforcement-led activity in favour of education and awareness campaigns to encourage a change in people’s behaviour regarding litter disposal.