Every year the Floriana local council is inundated with complaints about the "disgusting" state of the subway in St Anne Street.

But since the subway forms part of an arterial road, it falls under the responsibility of the Malta Transport Authority (ADT) and the council is powerless to make the necessary changes, according to mayor Nigel Holland.

"The council is so tired of fielding constant complaints that we recently put up a notice asking people to direct their objections directly to the authority," Mr Holland said.

"There's not much the council can do. We've even asked that the responsibility to maintain the subway be transferred to the council. But nothing has been done so far."

Apart from being badly lit and rundown, the underground passage often stinks of urine. A resident who called The Times said he even noted excrement in spite of the bad lighting.

"That subway is a health hazard especially for elderly people who are more likely to use it. They can easily slip and hurt themselves and no one will notice," the resident said, adding he preferred not to be mentioned by name.

The subway issue at Floriana has been a matter of controversy between the ADT and the council for many years.

Letters to The Times, up to two years ago, described the subway as "a sewer", "nauseating" and "reminiscent of a pigsty".

Mr Holland recognised that the subway was the major source of complaints received by the council. For the past years, he said, the council had been asking the government to do something about it.

He said the subway, built about 50 years ago, needed to be completely revamped and maintained regularly. There was the need for enforcement to ensure people did not use it as a public toilet.

Questions sent to the authority remained unanswered by the time of writing.

Replying to a parliamentary question in May, Transport Minister Austin Gatt said the ADT had prepared a plan for the subways. Work would start once the funds were allocated.