After The ET's story there were follow-ups in the national newspapers and radio phone-ins.

Predictably, the Taxpayers' Alliance (TA) could be relied upon for a knee-jerk reaction. A spokesman raged: "This is outrageous and completely unjust. These companies have no incentive to stop people littering – indeed if they stopped people doing it their pay would dry up.''

Pardon? Who is it outrageous and unjust to? The anti-social yobs who throw litter and blight our city?

And so what if these companies have no incentive to stop people littering. They are not employed to encourage people to stop littering they are employed to fine people who do. In any case, I would have thought that being fined £75 was a pretty good incentive not to do it.

So what is the TA suggesting? That the company doesn't fine people because that would stop littering and put themselves out of a job? Oh no, hang on, if they didn't fine people they wouldn't have a job in the first place... but there'd still be plenty of litter.

Challenging the TA for stupidity comes council tax pressure group Is It Fair?

A spokeswoman says: "Local authorities are already hitting people year after year with above inflation council-tax increases. Now they are giving litter wardens a licence to print money.''

Now, if this rent-a-quote spokeswoman knew anything about Peterborough, she would know that our council tax increases have been below inflation.

This woman's ill-informed rant goes on claiming: "The scheme encourages wardens to fine people on the flimsiest evidence.''

Well she should know about that as she has no evidence whatsoever for her claim.

I wouldn't mind betting if there were scores of residents unjustly getting a ticket after, for example, having a sweet wrapper blown out of their hand by a fierce gust of wind, they'd have contacted The ET to sound off. That hasn't happened.

We need pressure groups who can challenge councils and the Establishment on our behalf, but if they are just going to be the playthings of journalists (and, yes, that does include local ones) they might as well pack up now.

Let's remember who the bad guys are here. It's not the council and it's not the litter wardens. It's the louts that litter.

Double yelows and double standards

Hot on the wheels of the selfish driver, who caused city centre chaos by parking on double yellow lines on the corner of Cowgate, I witnessed a similar problem one lunchtime this week.

This incident had potentially more serious consequences as it wasn't a delivery lorry but a fire engine that was struggling to get through. Finally, the driver inched by, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that a part of me wished he'd left a nice red stripe down the offending car.

Guess what? Once again it was a car proudly displaying a disabled parking badge. Such bad parking is inconsiderate, but not illegal.