If you’ve ever asked the question as to why people of all ages endulge in anti social behaviour look no further than the actions of the contractors who carry out work for the likes of public utilities, the Highways Agency and the Council for the answer.

Yesterday was a good example of what I call “corporate anti social behaviour”.  Around midday I got a phone call at work from a distraught member of New Invention Community Forum. Did I know that contractors working for BT had driven their vehicles onto the green by the motorway bridge on the Lichfield Road and left deep ruts across the grass to where they’d parked, destroying crocuses which had been planted by the local community a couple of years ago to brighten the place up.

We ask people to take a pride in where they live, yet this sort of thing is allowed to go on day after day, is it any wonder people give up in despair?

This was not an isolated case. The other day, whilst driving to work, I stopped by the traffic lights at the junction of Longwood Road and Sutton Road. At long last Walsall’s Highways contractor had repaired a deep pothole at the junction. To do this, yes you’ve guessed it, they’d parked their vehicles on the wide grass verge. The evidence was there for all to see in the form of a set of deep ruts across the grass.

Then there is all the hassle recently experienced by residents living next to the M6 Traffic Management Project, where swathes of trees were removed by contractors working for the Highways Agency. The first residents knew of this was when they heard the sound of the chain saws ripping out trees which had helped to hide the M6 from view.

I could go on, but I think, or at least I hope, I have made my point. Attitude starts at the top. If you want to stop anti social behaviour, you have to lead by example, and quite frankly Walsall Council needs to start enforcing an attitude of respect!