Episode 10 Call the Council

From waste and recycling

to pest control and Trading Standards,

the taxes that we pay to our local councils are used to provide

many of our most essential services.

I like people who are keen to recycle.

In this series, we follow the front line staff

working behind the walls of Tameside town hall in Greater Manchester.

Like council officers across the country, these local heroes are

waging war on those blighting our communities.

-Oi, oi, oi!

-Excuse me.

-Excuse me, love, you can't do that.

They're protecting us from hidden dangers...

If there's rodent activity in your kitchen,

you won't be opening tonight. It's that simple.

..making sure our cash is spent on those who need it most...

-I'm at a loose end.

-I do not know where to turn.

..and responding to their residents when they Call The Council.

Coming up, officers help a resident who calls the council after

discovering a water supply with huge potential on his property...

-You've drunk it neat already?

-I have, yes.

-With no ill effects?

-Not yet.

..get tough with owners of a takeaway who have rats

festering in their backyard...

So that lettuce is out of date, is it?

-And these potatoes are out of date?

-Yeah, we don't use,

we don't use this at all. We've not used this for ages.

Come on, they're not old.

And join forces with the police to enforce regulations governing

independent off-licences...

-So do you accept a driving licence?

-No, I don't. No accept that.

Do you accept a passport?

-No.

-Now, they're the two that you SHOULD accept.

In the UK, there are 433 councils employing almost 2 million people.

The work of these local heroes delves into all aspects

of our daily lives, from licensing and trading standards

to pest control and bereavement services.

Funded by the taxes we pay,

they work hard to stretch every penny of their budgets.

PHONE RINGS

Environmental Services, Bev Hursthouse speaking.

When someone calls the council for help in Tameside,

a borough of Greater Manchester, officers like Bev Hursthouse

work tirelessly to help them solve their problems.

I sometimes do have to get tough, you know. I do think I'm quite

a reasonable character, really but sometimes you do have to go in,

when you just know they're not listening,

the message isn't getting there.

But, yeah,

a dog with a bone, I'd say.

Like their heroic council colleagues across the country,

Bev and fellow environmental health officer Kevin Greenwood

are charged with protecting us from possible hidden dangers.

-Ooh, pony parties!

-There you are.

A mum's called the council to question the food hygiene

at a pony party her daughter recently attended.

No children have fallen ill and the idea to run parties

at the stables is new, so the organisers haven't yet

consulted the council about their responsibilities as a food business.

But as part of an inspection several months ago,

a small amount of E.coli was found in the private water supply

that serves the same site.

Our concern at this stage is

one, where they're getting the water from.

Two, where's any food being prepared?

Three, where the children go in, and obviously the safety of the children.

E.coli is a bacterium that lives in our intestines.

The common strain is harmless but the worst type, 0157,

causes diarrhoea, kidney failure and even death.

The levels of E-coli detected here don't pose a serious risk,

but in a bid to prevent any dangerous contamination,

on his last visit, Kevin issued legal notices.

They insisted that the communal water tank be repaired

and a new system to filter the water put in place.

You know, with this, children, farm animals and food all in one, one mix,

it has to be taken quite serious.

The officers are keen to discuss the parents' concern with the party

organisers and to check that they've complied with the legal notice.

The owners aren't home...

Hiya, how you doing?

...but Kevin tracks down landowner Mr Felton.

He's keen to show the officers that he's started work

to make the water safe.

It's cracking up here, though, isn't it?

There is discharge from that pipe coming from the hillside somewhere

that flooded this area, and so the concern was that this water here

that's left standing would seep into the water supply

inside this stone capped tank. This has probably been here

for hundreds of years, hasn't it, really?

Mr Felton's responded to Kevin's legal notices

and has done a lot of work to remove any risk.

Once this is concreted, I'll probably build a small area with

-a couple of manhole covers on.

-Yeah, let's have a look underneath.

That'll make it airtight, won't it, then? That's good.

-What size is this tank capacity?

-7,000 litres.

7,000 litres, and we're OK with that in terms of the number of people.

Lovely, right, that's great.

But before the water is deemed fit for human consumption,

tests will need to be carried out by the council to confirm that

it's now free from harmful strains of E.coli.

With that in mind, Kevin and Bev need to be sure the farm

that hosts the pony parties

has the correct signage up to stop people drinking it.

-There's an outside tap there.

-Animal only.

-Animal only, yeah.

-Or feet wash.

-I have asked for signs to go up so that the,

they're not going to be used for drinking water

or for filling kettles up.

Kevin asks people mucking out how the water is being used.

-Hiya.

-Hi.

-What did this say when it was visible?

It said you're not to drink the water.

Is there another sign that says "No drinking water"?

-There was one near the tap there, but it's gone.

-It's blown off, yeah.

Well, we'll be talking to him.

He needs to get some robust, proper signage screwed in

that's going to not disappear in a few weeks.

The water is safe for the animals to drink but the signs,

while in place, aren't very clear.

If you get a chance, remind him the signs,

the signs should have gone up at all these taps.

The issues don't stop there.

Children have been introduced to some of the animals and you know, they

look after the ponies and have a go at riding them,

but there's also this petting of some of the animals as well,

which is another concern.

After grooming and petting the ponies,

the party moves into a caravan for a birthday tea,

but as the owners aren't there,

the officers are unable to check where the children wash their hands.

So what the complainant informed us was that this is actually where

the children are sitting and eating, inside here.

Which, you know, would be quite good if it weren't on a farm, really.

If children's hands aren't washed properly after petting animals,

they could be at risk of infection from E.coli.

You know, we're just concerned

that maybe hand washing's not taking place,

especially if they've been handling the animals,

so we just really need to speak to them

before the next party takes place, really.

Hand sanitizer is present, but it doesn't seem to be enough

to meet basic hygiene regulations for a business handling food.

If there's no facilities to wash your hands there,

then really, the food business shouldn't be in place yet.

You know, we'd rather be on the end of the phone and provide advice

and guidance and point them in the right direction, really,

prior to something going wrong.

This is exactly the kind of work that council officers

nationwide are tasked to do.

With public safety paramount,

Bev and Kevin will return to meet the party planners

and thoroughly investigate their hygiene regime to check all is well.

Still to come, the officers work with the party planners

to ensure their guests are safe.

You know, if there's something that's remiss, then yeah...

Sometimes in their battles to keep food businesses safe,

heroic officers like Bev need to call on the specialist services

of their colleagues,

especially when a takeaway has some unwanted visitors - rats.

Oh, yo, yo, yo!

Catch it! Did you see it?

Today, Bev and pest control officer Brian Whelan

are inspecting the alley behind a row of food outlets

after a resident called the council

when she saw rodents rummaging in their bins.

I've noticed rats, you know, quite big rats

and reported it to the council.

I mean, it's not nice, quite a few children live round here,

I've got a grandson, you know, so we want to stop it.

Officers have the authority to carry out unannounced inspections

at premises with a suspected rat infestation,

as the rodents spread diseases like salmonella

and leptospirosis, that are harmful to humans.

First impressions at the back of this takeaway aren't good.

I mean, if you look, there's a burrow going there, underneath there

and when I shine my torch there, there's some fresh poo

because it glistens in the light, so that's rats coming up over here.

Bev is keen to speak to the owner to ask how he's addressing

the rat infestation in the back alley.

-Loads there.

-Big problem with rats in the area.

-Right.

-OK, have you had any sightings at all?

-We did a few months ago.

OK, what I need you to do, really, is keep this yard area clear.

We've got a rat problem in the back of here, mate,

there's loads of rat droppings down here in this corner.

Look at this, you know, that was the last time, wasn't it?

The owner does have a private pest control contract in place,

but it's several months since his contractor's last visit.

Brian, who I'm with today, is obviously one of Tameside council's

pest officers. What he's just spotted is some droppings.

-What have you got in that shed there?

-Nothing.

-Onions?

-Nothing, really.

-Nothing really?

-No.

-It's next door, is it, that one?

-No, this one here.

-Outside?

-Yeah, this one here, this shed here.

-Right.

It's absolutely full of rat droppings.

-Rat droppings in the corner. See them?

-Can you see there?

We don't use this at all.

I mean, we've not been using this for a while.

-When is your lettuce for?

-Sorry?

-When will your lettuce be for?

So that lettuce is out of date, is it? And these potatoes

-are out of date?

-Yeah, we don't use, we don't use this at all.

-We've not used this for ages.

-Come on, these aren't...

-..they're not old.

-We don't, we try to...

-Need to get your pest guy out.

-Again?

-You've got a big rat hole there in the corner.

All them bits there, that's rat droppings.

Honestly, we don't, we do not use, I mean, there's nothing here at all.

-The lads will get a good

-BLEEP

-because you can see this,

-we don't use this as storage.

-Well, when your pest guy comes,

you could probably do with getting them out because there's a lot

of activity going on in the rear yard as well. He needs to come out

-and...

-I'll ring him now for you.

-OK.

-I'll ring him now.

-That's great.

He's had a problem in this back area for a long time, yeah.

His pest control contract he's got, I mean, there's a bait box there,

you've seen in the shed, that is absolutely,

that's definitely the toilet.

With concerns about droppings this close to the food preparation area,

Bev carries out an inspection inside.

There's no evidence of a rat infestation within the premises

and the owner is keen to respond to Bev's concerns and stay open.

We need to get this hole sorted. Can we get a piece of wood over that

today until you get your door repaired?

I'll get that sorted out by the end of tonight, one way or another.

-OK, that's great.

-Even if I have to change the door tonight,

-I'll get the door changed.

-OK.

So with no imminent risk to public health

the takeaway can continue trading - for now.

A relief, really, that I can't see any activity inside the premises.

Business owner's given me his word

-that he will discard this rubbish now.

-All right.

Shouldn't really have any food stored in the shed,

so he will clear that out.

There is some activity in the yard as we know.

But with rats present in the yard, the council will monitor

this takeaway until their rodents are under control.

Their work here is another example of the commitment our heroic

council officers make to keep residents and customers safe.

To be honest with you,

I thought cleansing this would have been top of their priority

with it being a food outlet, but no.

Still to come,

Brian returns to see if the takeaway's owners

have taken the council's advice.

Oh, you just missed one. A huge one in that burrow there.

It's just shot that way.

From restaurants and cafes to bars and shops,

our nation's council heroes are responsible

for ensuring that licensed trades adhere

to strict regulations designed to keep us safe.

To enforce the law, council officers like John Gregory and Dave Smith

are armed with enforcement powers that allow them to issue notices,

fines and legal proceedings against anyone caught flouting the system.

The primary reason for local authorities being

involved in licensing of any kind of business is to protect public safety.

We license gambling establishments, we license tattooists,

we license scrap metal dealers. All of those have an element in them,

there's a requirement for us to regulate them.

Today, their team is joining forces with the police to spot check

independent outlets selling alcohol.

Right, morning, everyone. Thanks very much for coming.

So the ambition for today is to visit all our independent off-licences.

It's 130-odd premises, which sounds quite a lot

but actually, we've got all day for it today.

We're splitting you into small teams

and you're all being given a list of premises to go out and visit.

If you do see or hear anything during the visit which causes you concern,

can you please make a note and make sure that we're made aware of it?

And as you come up to Simon, tell him who you are and

he'll tell you who you're teamed up with and then we'll get you paired up

and we'll get you out.

The team will prioritise checks for illegal and illicit goods,

fire safety standards,

and an understanding of legislation that governs the sale of alcohol.

I think these types of operations are important

because ultimately, selling alcohol is a big responsibility.

There are a lot of problems in the country due to alcohol misuse,

so in order to ensure the best that we can

that people are selling it responsibly and legally,

this is what these types of operations are all about.

Alcohol is 45% more affordable than it was in 1980.

As prices go down, crime goes up, and today the cost of

alcohol-related offences to the UK is £11 billion a year.

Council licensing officer Dave Smith and police officer Lisa Cameron

arrive at the first shop to be targeted.

Dave's quick to spot a contravention of the licensing regulations.

There's a condition on this licence here

and it stipulates that you operate a Challenge 25 policy.

-Those posters are just there.

-No.

-They need to be displayed. Right.

-It was in the window, but somehow it's dropped down.

-Right.

-Can we put it back up?

-Yeah, no problem.

-Thank you.

-You've got quite a big shop here.

-Right.

-You need more of them.

Challenge 25 is a national scheme supported by retailers that

encourages all young adults to carry ID to prove

they can legally buy alcohol.

Selling alcohol to anyone under 18 can lead to a maximum fine

of £20,000.

One poster is insufficient, so Dave insists the trader put up more

to comply with mandatory requirements.

Lisa then turns her attention to a more life-threatening hazard.

If there was a fire at the front door,

how would you get out of the building?

You go out that back door.

The fire door is blocked and locked. To comply with regulations,

the shop must offer a secondary escape route in case of fire.

The first thing I'll say, Hassan,

is that a fire exit has got to be unobstructed,

so you can't have things piled up outside your exit.

Yes, yes.

And also, if this is a fire exit, you can't have it locked

because if there's a big fire in here, you can't afford time

to start messing around with keys and locks and stuff.

You've got to be able to get out quick.

-It's like Fort Knox.

-Yeah.

There you go. So once you're out, you're all right.

If this premises has had a fire risk assessment completed,

that door wouldn't be there.

That needs to be a push bar door and unobstructed.

I mean, you can see there there's just piled up boxes and waste

and whatnot, it's no good.

You've effectively got one exit and that's at the front of the shop.

If that exit there was incapacitated in the event of a fire,

you're pretty much trapped in, really.

The owner agrees to have the door replaced

and inspected by the fire service to ensure it meets regulations.

-All right.

-Thanks, Hassan.

The inspections by the officers are just part of

the life-saving work they do for their communities.

Still to come,

an employee shocks officers

by failing to grasp even the basics of licensing.

-So do you accept a driving licence?

-No, I don't. No accept that.

-Do you accept a passport?

-No.

-Now, they're the two that you SHOULD accept.

-Yeah, yeah.

Our country's council officers often rely on their experience

and powers of persuasion to get us results.

But when things get tough, so do these unsung heroes.

Armed with a raft of legal enforcement powers, they battle

the most stubborn of pests, be they business owners or rats.

Earlier, environmental health officers Bev and Brian

carried out an unannounced inspection of a takeaway

following rat sightings from a resident who called the council.

There's quite a lot of activity going on in the rear yard as well.

Today, Brian is back to see what work has been done

to rid their yard of rats.

Ooh, you've just missed one, a huge one in that burrow there.

It's just shot that way.

The owners were asked to remove the contents of their shed.

They've gone as far as taking it down

but have left behind the base - the root of the problem.

Along with rubbish, discarded food

provides multiple routes for the rats to roam.

They've been told about it

and then they do this instead of putting it in the bin.

It just doesn't make sense.

They do all this, they've not took this up

because they'll be living underneath here.

There's obvious sightings there

so the pest control's not done any baiting in here.

Just rat holes everywhere.

To me, it's just ignorance, it's just not listening to you

and unfortunately, this is the thing that frustrates you.

Get this cleared.

Get it all swept out, get this pest control company to get some

bait on this, down these burrows and start getting it under control.

But there'll be quite a few living under here.

With the takeaway failing to do a thorough clear-up,

the rats have no reason to leave.

Not even coming out, are they?

They're right down underneath this tree, laughing at us.

The base that he's took the shed off, that's even got fresh rat burrows

from underneath it, chewed through it.

These inspections are both time-consuming and costly

for the council and ultimately, us taxpayers.

But the dedication of officers like Brian means they'll persist

with the problem until the rat population is under control.

Frustrating, the way you,

you try and help people...

..and then they do that. I just don't understand it.

Still to come, with protecting public health

at the top of the council's agenda,

enforcement notices are served

demanding that the business take responsibility

for their rat problem.

You'd think they'd take it seriously

and it's not fair to the residents here, is it?

You know, they've got this at the back

and this business hasn't done what they said they would do.

In the UK, 99% of us get our water supply from a mains source.

The remaining 1% have a private supply drawn from a spring

or bore hole.

But wherever it comes from, it's down to our local councils

to ensure we all have access to safe water.

Council officer Kevin Greenwood has received a call

from property developer Bill Jordan,

who's made a surprising discovery in his garden.

We came across this well by chance.

We were drilling for ground source heat.

The well is roughly 250 to 300ft deep,

As we were drilling the well,

the water shot up about three or four metres into the air

and we couldn't stop it.

Alongside saving Bill around £400 a year in water charges,

the artesian well could also be the start of

a lucrative business venture.

Potentially, there could be an endless supply of water,

of mineral water, spring water, that's what we need clarifying.

Places like Buxton are famed for the purity of their water

and have spawned bottling companies with multimillion pound turnovers,

but before Bill can put his village of Mottram on the water map,

Kevin must take a sample to be tested

for bacterium harmful to humans.

-Morning.

-Kevin Greenwood.

-The artesian well, Kevin...

-Yes.

..is under the grass.

-You want it covered up...

-Yes.

-..like that? That's how you want it?

That's how we want it, yes.

Because there's nothing open there, presumably, against contamination.

-No, it's capped.

-Is it a watertight cap?

-It is.

-To prevent anything seeping into it.

-Yes.

-Right.

-Do you want to just indicate where the line of pipes go...

-Yes.

-..to the point which we're going to take a sample?

-Yep.

Yeah, the line of pipes runs under the lawn.

Underneath the steps,

-into the basement.

-OK.

I'm just conscious, conscious of health and safety at work...

The water from the well is pumped directly to this tap

and to ensure that a pure sample is taken,

Kevin needs to methodically sterilise the outlet.

So this is a chlorine solution which disinfects

the surfaces of the tap

and do a little bit more cleaning on the inside,

give it a wash through and what we'll do afterwards is

we'll need to flush it by taking more buckets of water...

..from the tap so that the chlorine doesn't affect the sample

because we don't want any chlorine in it, otherwise it's going

not give us a true reading.

The water arrives and Bill's confident

that his supply has potential.

We have actually drank it from when the well was...

-You've drunk it neat already?

-I have, yes.

-With no ill effects?

-Not yet.

-And was it nice tasting?

-It was lovely, yeah.

After running the water for ten minutes,

Kevin can now collect a sample.

For the water to be safe enough for human consumption, it must be

clear of bacterium like E.coli that pose health risks.

-There we go.

-What report would be a good report to get back?

-Zero.

-Right.

Zero coliforms, zero E.coli, zero everything.

So that's it, so we'll take it from there.

-All right, thank you very much.

-All right.

As Kevin takes the sample away for testing, Bill must await

the results that might have the potential to bring good

fortune for him and his local community.

Well, it means that we won't be paying any water rates

and hopefully if commercially, we can sell the water, it's a goldmine.

Next on the task list

for Kevin and environmental services officer Bev Hursthouse

is a return to a local farm and children's pony party business,

to check on their hygiene.

Hi, you all right?

On their last visit, the owners were out

so the officers are here to discuss

the issues arising from their previous inspection and question

why they've not registered as a food business.

The part that we're looking at today is, what food's being provided?

Where's the food prepared?

Then where they eat it and where the handwashing takes place.

Well, I mean, to be honest, the food is only a small part of it.

-It's only been done on a couple of occasions.

-OK.

But it's something we can do. We can look at that.

So at the moment, a couple of times

I've just done, like, a little food box with snacks in,

-crisps, you know, a drink.

-OK.

Chocolate bar, that sort of thing. A sandwich.

The venture might be small

but because part of the party cost includes food,

even making a simple sandwich falls under food hygiene regulations.

-So food that you're providing, is that made in here, then?

-Yeah.

-This is where it takes place?

-Yeah.

What we would require is that the food business is registered, yes?

It would just be a registered food business

and it can provide adequate handwashing facilities.

See, I'm struggling with this registered food business, I don't...

Everybody that provides food for the public has to be registered, OK?

That's something that's been introduced for a long, long time.

So irrespective of whether you're making burgers, hot dogs,

-sausage rolls, whatever you're making, or the sandwich, yeah?

-Yeah.

You're still providing food to members of the public,

so you would then be classed as a food business.

All we need to make sure is,

obviously everybody that's kind of consuming food that you've made

-or that they're going to be eating on the premises is safe.

-Yes.

It's not going to make them poorly or unwell so...

Can I just clarify, though,

it seems to have a gone a bit haywire as regards to the food,

it's more like, can I liken it to a...?

If you're going to a children's party

and you're given a piece of cake, birthday cake to take away with you?

It's the bit that's there, the risk that's there is what's going on

with what the children are handling and then the contact with the mouth.

-How do you, how do you monitor that?

-The handwashing.

Once they've eaten their dinner, they can go about playing.

It's the bit in-between, it's the actual physical of washing hands,

following on from touching the animals to then eating the dinner.

What we need is for people to be getting it right, you know,

and this is why it's a requirement, really, for them

to register the business.

Sometimes people don't take it as seriously as they should.

Food hygiene is potentially, it's a killer, it could be.

You know, if things go wrong, they can go very wrong.

This business should have registered 28 days prior to

offering food. The added issue is that small traces of common E.coli

were detected in their water supply some months ago.

Environmental health officer Kevin wants to offer advice on how

the organisers can avoid cross-contamination

and keep people safe.

That sink there is the one where the children are coming in

to wash their hands, but it's also doubling up as the sink that

you're using in connection with the food business at the same time.

We would normally ask for a separate bowl for handwashing.

In this instance where you've got somebody washing their hands

with, you know, potentially E.coli on them or whatever, we're in the same

sink and it's a concern that that might be the sink that you're using.

Yeah, it goes with the sort of thing that potentially, you know,

we'll be considering, well, whether it's worth it.

You do see them where they've got, like, two bowls,

you can have a drainer if you want as well.

It's obviously a bigger unit but one side will be for washing hands only,

that would swivel round, wash your hands only,

-you're not affecting that side...

-Right.

..in terms of washing up, I think if you're wanting to be, you know,

safe, then you would want both bowls, really.

At the end of the day,

your responsibility is making sure it's safe,

whether it be health and safety,

whether it be food safety, whichever. At the end of the day,

you don't want it on your conscience that somebody's become unwell

because of something that you've done.

-Let's go and see where your van is, then.

-OK.

The next area they're keen to inspect is where the children

eat their party food.

-Is a table manageable, do you think?

-I tend to sit with it...

-On the knee.

-It's all packaged in a box.

My only other sort of concern would be

obviously because of the clothing that they're wearing,

ideally I think a table would probably be better,

-rather than sitting on the knee.

-Yeah.

-Sandwich on the knee,

yeah, they've just really just recontaminated the sandwich there.

Where are you up to with sort of food hygiene training?

-I haven't done it...

-OK.

-..because I didn't know that I had to.

Not knowing they needed to register

means they don't know the regulations,

but the officers can help them ensure

the safety of their paying guests is made a top priority.

In all our undertakings up here,

-we want to be whiter than white in terms of...

-Yeah, got to be.

..you know, with the water, you know,

if there's something that's remiss, then, yeah.

-Thanks for your advice.

-No worries.

The owners are keen to improve,

but there's work to done before Bev gives them a clean bill of health.

I think it's good that kids can still experience farm life,

really, in some respect.

Hello!

-You just want to pet it.

-You do, though.

It's just that added extra kind of problem we've got

with the mix of food and sort of touching the animals,

but I'm confident.

Within days, Bev gets the positive news she's be hoping for.

Yeah, I'm really pleased.

They took quite serious what we'd said,

they understood the requirements of having that hand wash sink,

they fitted that and on that note, really, I can wish them

all the luck in the world with the business, hope it goes well.

Thanks to the proactive work by these council officers,

people can relax and enjoy pony parties,

knowing their children are safe and well.

Across the UK, our 433 councils have heroic officers

working at the coalface of our communities

enforcing laws set out to keep us safe.

Today in Tameside, a region-wide operation is taking place

spot-checking independent stores to ensure they're adhering

to strict licensing regulations.

It's a bit nerve-racking

but at the end of the day it's just your legal requirements

to do your job, you've got to, it's just law.

You've got to make sure everything's in line

so it is nerve-racking when they just walk in, but...

got to deal with that.

Council officer Dave Smith and police officer Lisa Cameron

continue to spot check stores' stock to make sure

they're not trading in illicit goods.

-Hello.

-Hi, there. Are you OK?

-You OK?

-Do you have your licence here on display?

-Yeah.

They also explain policy relating to underage drinking

and check their CCTV is working

and keeping their customers safe.

-So you've got CCTV.

-Yeah.

I think there's a bit of an issue with your two outside.

So they're either dirty or they've got water damage,

-they look like they need a wipe.

-Yeah, they need cleaning.

-Brilliant.

-Thanks for your time. Good to meet you.

-No problem.

-All right, cheers.

-Thank you very much, bye.

I think the vast majority of licence holders

do take their licence seriously. Some places just to seem to think,

"Right, I've got a licence and that's it. I know what times I can sell to

"and from and I'll just do that."

They don't look at the licence as a whole.

They should know, they should know.

Our job is really making sure that they know.

Hello, sir. You OK?

OK, so you operate a Challenge 25 policy, so if someone

comes in here and looks under 25, you ask them for ID, is that correct?

-Yeah.

-What happens if they haven't got any ID?

-If I came to you with a bill?

-No, no, no.

-You'd not accept a bill?

-Not accept that.

-What do you accept?

-Only an ID.

-So do you accept a driving licence?

-No, I don't. I don't accept that.

-Do you accept a passport?

-No, I don't.

-Now, they're the two that you SHOULD accept.

-Yeah, yeah.

The employees' lack of understanding about the regulations

rings alarm bells and Dave decides

to conduct a full search of the premises.

-Can we go upstairs?

-What's up there?

-Store only.

-Store?

-Yeah, yeah.

-Are we OK to go and have a look?

-Yeah.

Yeah?

Upstairs, there's clear evidence

that this room is not used just for storage.

The majority of it is stock, alcohol,

you've got soft drinks as well,

and then turning into the back room here, it's a bit of a dining area.

A makeshift kitchen, if you can call it that.

Some sort of stove, that's a risk.

This place would go up straight away with that there.

As this room is part of the shop, it also falls

under its regulations, but with no evidence of a fire risk assessment,

they're not fully compliant with their licence.

That, coupled with the staff's lack of understanding

of trading regulations, means Dave will be firmly advising

that they cease trading alcohol, as they are committing offences.

The store is now under further investigation.

-Yeah, that was pretty unbelievable, that, weren't it?

-Definitely.

They had no incident book, they had some Challenge 25 posters up

but they're obviously not complying with that

because he doesn't accept driving licences and passports as valid ID.

So he obviously doesn't know his thing with that.

After a full day of inspections, the teams have visited

over 100 independent stores across the region.

Hello, sir. You OK?

Thanks to diligent checks by these officers

there will be less under-aged drinking,

crimes relating to alcohol and anti-social behaviour,

which all go towards saving money for us hardworking taxpayers.

On the other side of the borough, another war against wrongdoers

is being waged by the council's unsung heroes.

The environmental services team has been battling to rid

the back yard of a takeaway of rats.

-Yeah, this one here, this shed here.

-Right.

It's absolutely full of rat droppings.

But the rats are still in residence

and have even been spotted in the yard of the restaurant next door.

It's time for the council to flex its legislative muscles.

Officer Simon Ashton arrives armed with legal notices

giving both businesses three weeks to clean up.

I'm serving these notices today really

to make sure that at the back of the property

there's nowhere where the actual rats can sort of live.

You know, we call it harbourage, but really just making sure

that the premises at the back are free of rodents

and also at the same time making sure that they seal up all the holes

and that and the structure where rats could actually be

getting into the property.

He inspects the work done to date before delivering the notices.

This restaurant now has a pest control contract in place

and has been working hard to keep the rats at bay.

When I came down here last week,

there were two rats in there, you could actually see them

looking out, you know, this was where they'd been harbouring.

So I spoke to their pest control chap on Thursday and told them

I'd seen rats in this area and I would have hoped then,

he will have gone and actually baited this area,

you know, put some bait down. Just put some gloves on.

And the poison they've laid seems to be working.

If you look in here, actually, you can see there's a dead rat

in the bottom, the actual bottom of the gully.

So it's taken the bait and one of the things I've asked for

in the notice is that they actually get this gully replaced

because it's broken.

Even though the restaurant has a pest contract

and has filled a number of holes, it's not enough.

The notices that I'm serving today are for them

to actually prevent any sort of rats living in this back yard,

it's to get the damaged gully replaced

and it's also to pest-proof the property

so I want to see all these holes that have developed round here,

I want them properly sealing up

so rats can't actually get into the building.

I've given them three weeks on the notice so obviously

if the work's not done after three weeks,

we'll then look at probably the council coming

and doing the work in default and then obviously bill the people

who are responsible for this property.

If the council does the work,

the business can expect a bill of up to £1,000.

Next door, at the rear of the takeaway, the problems continue.

I spoke to the owner of the food business last Monday

and he assured me that he would get this whole base up.

Clearly, a week on, he hasn't done that,

so I'm serving notices on the property next door, but I'm obviously

going to go back to the office this afternoon

and get some notices served on this, really,

because what I'm concerned about is that the rats are actually going

under the base here and living under what used to be a wooden shed base.

You've also, if you look there, there are actually holes in the ground,

you can see where the rats are burrowing into the actual ground.

It's a public health nuisance

and you'd think they'd take it seriously,

it's not fair to the residents here, is it?

You know, they've got this at the back

and this business hasn't done what they'd said they would do,

so I'll have to serve notices now.

Having received their written warnings,

the businesses both complied

and acted to remove the potential for further rat infestations.

It's another great job done by the hardworking council officers.

Like his council colleagues nationwide,

Kevin Greenwood has public service in his DNA.

The thing that makes me jump out of bed at 6.10 every morning

when the alarm goes off, even 30 years after it first went off,

is the fact that I enjoy the job and I enjoy meeting people,

I enjoy helping people.

And when the job satisfaction's right, then you're on a winner.

Today, Kevin's received the results of the water sample

he took from the well discovered in Bill Jordan's garden.

But will the results help Bill realise

the potential of his liquid assets?

If drinkable, that means we can be bathing in mineral water,

drinking mineral water, cooking in mineral water

and potentially sell the mineral water.

If the water is clear of bacterium

and safe for human consumption, Bill will also have the right

to bottle and sell the supply, as it's on his private property.

So I'm here with the results. We have it here. I'll open it up for you.

The good news is, the water supply has passed the test, all the tests,

there was nothing, no contaminants in it

and it is a satisfactory result.

-So I think that's what...

-Very good, yeah.

-..you were hoping for.

Yeah, it's excellent news.

It's basically looking for E.coli and bacteria

and anything that might cause a problem in terms of health risks

in drinking the water but from the sample we took,

everything's come out satisfactory.

The recommendation is to put an ultraviolet filtration system on

as belt and braces

so that if anything should happen in the future, you're covered with that.

That's always the guidance

and the guidance from the drinking water inspectorate as well.

It's all great news for Bill and the community.

Potentially, it means he could bottle his liquid gold.

-Thank you very much for your assistance.

-All right, yeah.

Now we can run it into the drinking supply,

so that eliminates any water charges now which is a good, good factor

and then from now on,

we can see what we can do about bottling the water.

The potential's there and I don't suppose it's going to run out,

the supply, so he's got a never-ending supply of water

that from now, he doesn't really have to pay for,

doesn't even have to pay

for the electric for a pump and it's coming up under its own pressure.

It's a good situation, really.

The welcome result for this resident is thanks, in part,

to the support of this dedicated local council officer.

Like their council colleagues nationwide,

it's been another successful shift for these heroic officers.

They've re-educated party organisers

on how to keep their paying guests safe...

The risk that's there is what's going on with what

the children are handling and then the contact with their mouth.

..conducted a borough-wide operation

clamping down on businesses flouting the law...

-So do you accept a driving licence?

-No, I don't. No accept that.

-Do you accept a passport?

-No.

-Now, they're the two that you SHOULD accept.

-Yeah, yeah.

..and helped a local resident

make the most out of an unexpected discovery.

The good news is, the water supply has passed the test,

all the tests, there was nothing, no contaminants in it

and it is a satisfactory result.

But most importantly, they've worked tirelessly

to help their residents when they Call The Council.

Whatever job we're doing, it's always to protect the public.

It's always with the public in mind, you know, we are public servants,

that's what we're here for.

I do love it, I really do enjoy my job.