It's now more than a month since Sita, the firm which collects rubbish in Brighton and Hove, changed its rounds to make the service more efficient.

Since then, rubbish has been thrown all over the streets as seagulls and foxes get to work on refuse bags which have not been collected.

Now Sita has been fined under the terms of its contract by Brighton and Hove Council, which is as fed up as many residents about the mess.

The company has also been frank in admitting that the switchover to a new system was not managed properly.

No one should underestimate the problems of collecting rubbish in a densely-packed town such as Brighton with thousand of flatlets and many alleys known only to locals.

But Sita has certainly made a big mess of the changeover and large numbers of residents have been paying the price.

Let's hope the streets of Brighton and Hove will soon be sparkling as Sita cleans up its act.

If not, no less a person than the Prime Minister will be wading through a sea of rubbish later this month as he arrives for the Labour Party conference.

School houses?

There's a growing problem over not being able to recruit enough teachers for schools in many parts of the country, including some in Sussex.

Difficulties in dealing with awkward kids are a national issue which the Government could help solve by providing the profession with extra sanctions.

But in many parts of the South East, including Sussex, there's a gap between the salaries of typical teachers and the soaring cost of mortgages.

Reserving a pool of rented homes for key workers, such as teachers and nurses, may soon have to become standard practice for education authorities and action zones.

The Government will also either have to boost their pay or come up with attractive mortgage schemes for teachers to prevent the brain-drain from becoming a crisis in places where property prices are high.

Bad vibrations Police raced to a house in Durrington after a 999 caller heard a noise that sounded like raiders on the building site next door.

When they went round to tell her nothing had been found, they heard the sound and traced it to her bedroom cabinet, where they found a malfunctioning vibrator.

Their advice was to get the wonky sex aid fixed so that in future it did not make her feel shaky when not in use.