An anti-litter firm has ended its contract with Wirral Council after accusations of 'underhand and aggressive tactics'.

Kingdom was employed by the council in 2015 to enforce its trade waste policy. Its activities were halted last month amid claims it was unfairly targeting firms.

A second-hand bookshop owner was fined £300 after Kingdom classed the remnants of her lunch as commercial waste.

Kingdom said it asked Wirral Council to end the deal early as its officers and their families had been threatened.

The firm's contract with Liverpool City Council was terminated last year after claims of heavy-handed behaviour by its employees.

Its website says its local government division deploys fully trained uniformed officers into 'problem areas' to deal with littering, dog fouling and other environmental issues.

Its staff impose fixed penalty notices which it says has raised more than £3.3m for councils in the last year.

Wirral cabinet member Anita Leech said the contract was terminated early by mutual consent.

'We've taken the decision because we've had a number of allegations of underhand and aggressive tactics by Kingdom,' she said.

'We've also heard from Kingdom officers about abuse they've received - being spat at, being attacked.

'Overall we're concerned about the general perception of this operation.'