A COUNCIL official saw the extent of Middlewich's anti-social problems after watching police dealing with a fight on CCTV when he went on a night out with community wardens.

Dave Dingle, Congleton Borough Council's director of public services, also ended up directing traffic with the community wardens after a road accident.

As part of Learning at Work week, Mr Dingle spent five hours with the wardens on a Friday night after being briefed on what to expect.

He said: "I was told about the hot spots where youths tend to gather and afterwards we went around the borough, directed by calls to where youths and other anti-social problems were causing a bit of a fuss."

But then there was a road traffic accident on the M6 between Arclid and Sandbach and Mr Dingle and the other wardens were needed by the police.

Mr Dingle said: "I was there in the dark for nearly an hour helping police direct the traffic.

"When we arrived there was only one policeman on his own, so how he would have managed without us I don't know.

"We had to do a lot of running about which I hadn't expected."

Mr Dingle also monitored the CCTV cameras. He said: "We saw a fight in Middlewich which the police were dealing with.

"Luckily we didn't have to go out and get punched."

Mr Dingle admitted he was tired after sharing a shift with the wardens.

He added: "I felt as if I had done a bit but then I had done a full day's work already.

"There was a lot of action and walking about, but what really shocked me was the unpredictability, such as the road accident."

He had nothing but praise for the wardens who are on the front line every night.

He added: "I think the service offered to the borough residents is very good and the wardens and the CCTV operators do give a service that we should be proud of in tackling crime."

jdriscoll@guardiangrp.co.uk