A MOVE to ditch controversial enforcement operators Kingdom has been made by a group of Denbighshire councillors.

Prestatyn north ward member Cllr Paul Penlington is leading the call to cut ties with the firm, which issues fixed penalties for offences such as dog fouling and littering.

Kingdom has come under fire for its alleged heavy-handed approach, which many believe is driven by the commission it earns from the tickets its wardens give out.

Cllr Penlington has put a motion forward to not renew the company's contract when it comes up in November.

He and fellow councillors Brian Blakeley (Rhyl), Graham Timms (Llangollen) and Geraint Lloyd Williams (Denbigh) have been monitoring the situation and Cllr Penlington says the job would be better kept in house.

He said: "I have been researching Kingdom and possible alternatives for several weeks.

"We’re not taking this step lightly. Graham and I met with Denbighshire County Council (DCC) environmental enforcement officers to discuss my findings and check the facts.

"Kingdom have been contracted to the county since 2012 and were taken on primarily to address dog fouling across the county.

"Since that time they have consistently failed to tackle that problem, whilst massively increasing their income through fines almost exclusively aimed at town-centre smokers.

"In the last 30 months they have issued over 13,000 fines. Only 233 were for dog fouling, whilst over 10,000 were for 'cigarette litter' in Rhyl and Prestatyn."

If enforcement were removed from Kingdom and brought in-house to the county council, Cllr Penlington said there would be a greater emphasis on education and support, rather than punishment.

He said the other positive from the move would also be fines issued would then come into the council's accounts.

He said: "During difficult financial times, it is difficult to justify the huge profits a private organisation is making from residents and visitors."

Meanwhile, residents in Conwy county have been voicing their dissatisfaction with Kingdom, with a group of more than 100 marching through Llandudno Junction in a protest at the weekend.

Cllr Penlington said: "I was unaware of protests in neighbouring counties until this week but I’m not surprised.

"I have spoken to many residents and have yet to hear a good word about the service Kingdom deliver.

"I did a Facebook survey this weekend to get a flavour of wider public opinion.

"I was quite shocked at the response. Over 1,000 people responded in 24 hours, saying they want Kingdom to go.

"I know a Facebook survey isn’t a precise tool, but the size of response and strength of feeling expressed were quite remarkable."

A Kingdom spokesman said they covered a number of counties across the UK and in all cases were hired by the councils, adding: "Ultimately we are there to serve as part of the council.

"If cleanliness results are going up then the council must be happy that we are doing a good job. There's not much more we can do."

Cllr Penlington wants to motion to go before the May council meeting and he says he is currently working the the authority's legal services to ensure the wording is appropriate and sufficiently precise.

A DCC spokesperson said: "We have a long-standing partnership with Kingdom Security to secure clean and tidy streets and a protected environment in Denbighshire.

"This partnership is regularly reviewed and a report will be presented to members in June to provide a further opportunity to scrutinise the partnership."