Call the Council

From waste and recycling to pest control and potholes, this new series takes us onto the frontline of local council operations with the country's heroic council officers. These dedicated public servants are protecting us from hidden dangers, making sure our cash isn't wasted and tackling those blighting our communities; responding when their residents call the council. In this episode, residents in a suburban street call the council after being greeted by the shocking sight of raw meat hanging on a neighbour's washing line; the dog warden is summoned to a stray causing havoc on the streets and officers work through the night to rid the country's roads of potentially lethal taxis.

Environmental health officers battle to protect the public from food poisoning when evidence of mice is found in a takeaway. The waste management team get elbow deep in rubbish trying to solve a recycling conundrum, and the council do their bit in the battle against fuel poverty.

Local council officers intervene when tensions run high between neighbours at war over a water supply, help a whole street when their houses are overrun by mice, and respond when artists call to complain about a fly-tipper creating a blot on their landscape.

Heroic council officers respond when residents call the council about the rotting rubbish filling up their alleyways, catch a fly tipper red handed and help a small business with big ambitions.

This episode shows how local councils care for us in life and in death as Mike Gurney, head of the bereavement services team, turns detective when a resident dies alone. Environmental health officers help a resident worried by what she finds in her curry, and respond when staff and shoppers are put in danger at a cash and carry.

The council faces a crisis when a Victorian mill starts to collapse, threatening homes, businesses and residents' lives. The Trading Standards team stamp out the illegal import of fake designer handbags and clamp down on businesses selling alcohol without a licence.

The council faces a crisis when a Victorian mill starts to collapse, threatening homes, businesses and residents' lives. The Trading Standards team stamp out the illegal import of fake designer handbags and clamp down on businesses selling alcohol without a licence.

Local council enforcement officers respond when a family calls to complain about noisy neighbours. Meanwhile pest control officers help an elderly resident when a colony of angry wasps moves in and act fast when rats are reported running free near takeaways and restaurants.

The council's Trading Standards team crack down on sales of illegal and potentially lethal alcohol, get tough with a business that's rubbish at recycling and put their bodies on the line to rid the region's houses of fleas.

Local council officers help a resident who calls the council after discovering a water supply with the potential to make him millions in his back garden. Enforcement officers get tough with a takeaway owner with rats in his back yard and join forces with the police to crack down on off-licences flouting the law.

Fighting to right wrongs on behalf of the people they serve, local council officers are forced to call in the council cavalry to clear a driveway filled with festering refuse, take a superstore to task over spotlights keeping residents awake at night and help a young business owner turn around a troublesome takeaway.

Pest control officer Brian bravely battles the worst cockroach infestation of his career, and the council injects fresh life into the local economy by launching the careers of local entrepreneurs and helps a butcher bring a new venture to an ailing high street.

Tempers fray as the council trials a bin swap scheme aimed at saving residents money. Officers respond when locals call to complain about potholes and a hairdresser with a salon overrun with rats calls the council for help.

Council officers are shocked by a takeaway flouting food hygiene regulations. They team up with local business leaders to help a young entrepreneur achieve his dreams and work tirelessly to help the high street flourish.

Council officers stage a crackdown on rogue scrap metal traders, come to the assistance of a resident who calls the council for help with a noisy neighbouring mill and begin the unenviable task of fitting LED bulbs to the borough's many streetlamps.