I saw first-hand how Shrewsbury is tackling its streets, bins and litter

In every town and village in the country, people expect to see clean streets and reliable services. After all, it's what they pay their council tax for.

However, due to the financial crisis that has engulfed Shropshire Council, the unitary authority admitted that it could not provide the level of service expected going forward.

Therefore, it offered town and parish councils the option to take on additional responsibilities under a devolution process.

Shrewsbury Town Council was one such authority who agreed to the change, with street cleaning, bin emptying, and litter picking now under its jurisdiction.

It naturally led to a big rise in its precept - the share of council tax that is taken from residents. However, the council has promised that it would result in a "significant improvement" in the town.

So, how has it been going so far? I spoke to some of the workers to find out.

Meeting up with team leader, Karl Bartlett at the town council's office in St John's Hill, I was taken to see the two road sweepers in action in Longden Road, near The Priory School.

Mr Bartlett said there is a team of nine that includes road sweepers, bin emptiers and litter pickers. Some crews start at 6am, with the only day no one working being Christmas Day.

"Everyone's dropping rubbish all the time," said Mr Bartlett.

"We try and do what we can. People are people, all over the country they drop litter. Winter wise it's quiet, especially on the bins and litter but in the summer, the town is busy because it's a massive tourist attraction.

"At the weekend with the nightlife, it turns into something else. We do what we can do.

"There will always be teething problems, but it's going in the right direction.

"It will take time - you won't see a difference overnight. It takes a while to catch up."

I meet up with John Tait and Warren Bird, the town council's road sweepers.

Mr Tait is behind a 15-tonne sweeper that covers the road surfaces, while Mr Bird operates a 3.5 tonne machine that focuses on the footpaths.

Data shows that, during July, 80 tonnes of rubbish was swept up.

"I did two laybys the other week, I'm not sure the last time they did it, but it was the best part of five tonne [of rubbish]," said Mr Tait.

"I'll pick up the big main roads. But when you get into cul-de-sacs that are too tight for me to turn round, Warren comes in and gets as much as he can.

"Without him, it wouldn't be as good, and without me, it wouldn't be."

Mr Tait added that the duo had just finished sweeping the Monkmoor area of the town, and were then going to head to Copthorne.

"We have sections that we take out and treat it like a piece of cheese or cake," he said.

"Whilst we're taking it out, we don't miss anything. We take slices off.

"It won't be long until we've done the whole of the town, and then we'll start again."

Mr Tait added that the crews have received very good feedback from people, especially in Monkmoor.

"The first time I went on a housing estate that hadn't been done in years, somebody came and thanked me," said Mr Tait.

"It was always, as they perceived it, 'the million pound houses and us.'

"Everyone pays the same in the pot, but now it's not like that. We cover every single road. That was quite humbling.

"But people in Bayston Hill, Baschurch and Shawbury ask, 'when are they going to do our villages'? The amount of people who ask that is mind-blowing. And you get tarred with the wrong brush."

Mr Bird said that, after sweeping the town centre, he will call his colleague to find out where he is so they can work out what needs doing.

"Then we blitz that until we finish," he said.

"It's a massive job and never stops. I've lived in Shrewsbury for 20 years and in all that time, I never saw a road sweeper. Even my wife, who's lived here all her life, said she's never seen it so tidy."

After returning to the office, I speak to Stuart Farmer, the town council's operations manager for amenities and infrastructure.

He said that the organisation was fortunate that it already had the makings of the teams required to take on the jobs.

"We had the depot, the people, and a very good idea of what was required," said Mr Farmer.

"The road sweeping was a bit of a leap of faith, but we deal with big machinery on a daily basis anyway.

"It made sense for the town council to take on everything, get what what we could, and work from there.

"There's been lots of challenges along the way and certain bits we didn't realise were involved. We're also catching up on areas that haven't had the maintenance required in the past."

Mr Farmer added that the council is always looking at ways to improve and would love more vehicles. But, like everything, it comes down to the budget.

"If we had another litter picking team and another sweeper out there, we would get more done, but we've got to be really conscious of making sure we pay the taxpayers' money the way we should," said Mr Farmer.

Going forward, Mr Farmer said he wants many rubbish bins replaced, with a lot being broken or looking tatty.

Tackling Battlefield Enterprise Park is also a big job.

"The parish boundary used to run down the centre of the road, but it's now quite a long way out past Battlefield Farm Shop," said Mr Farmer.

"We've been up there the past few weeks and taken that on."