Almost a month after a council suspended its the entire litter enforcement service and wardens today came back onto the streets of Maidstone.

Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) removed the officers from private contractor Kingdom Security off active patrols on September 16, the day after one issued a fine to a woman for feeding the ducks.

They were originally due back on Monday, (October 3) but MBC opted to extend its review for more than a week while the wardens underwent retraining.

The review has seen two new officers set to join the team but a spokesman did not confirm whether any officers have been moved to other areas.

Jennifer Shepherd, head of environment and public realm at MBC, said: “We have been working closely with Kingdom to ensure officers are able to provide a service which fulfils our priority of providing a clean and safe environment.

"I can confirm there have been a number of personnel changes which Kingdom have made during the review and we anticipate that two new officers will be joining the team over the next few weeks. “

News of the review prompted outrage among some residents, a few of whom questioned on social media whether wardens were being handed a commission from each £80 penalty charge notice issued for dropping cigarettes, dog fouling and other offenses.

An MBC spokesman confirmed that while Kingdom Security receives £40 of each fine as part of its £160,000 contract, officers receive no commission.