If an award were to be given for Malta’s filthiest and most unhygienic pavement, the accolade would surely go to the stretch of perambulatory displeasure that runs from Triq Antonio Sammut to Triq San Albert via Triq Il-Madonna tal-Ġebla in Gżira.

Cameras would act as a deterrent to dog owners- Philip Gibbs, Gżira

If you take this route on foot, as I do twice a day, my advice is to keep your eyes glued firmly to the floor. Otherwise, you will almost certainly have a “close encounter of the squelchy kind” with the remains of countless canine dinners that have been liberally deposited along the way by their previous owners. It will certainly help if you have any sort of dancing experience, preferably the foxtrot, as that is the sort of nifty footwork needed in order to avoid treading in one of the myriad piles of steaming excrement littering this particular faecal footpath.

If you do happen to risk a look ahead for a second, the morning procession of bleary-eyed language students hopping, skipping and jumping their way past Dar il-Freres on the way to the NSTS school is a sight to behold, resembling some sort of multi-national unsynchronised flamenco team practice.

I’m sure they must take fond memories of their eccentric daily exercise routine back to their own countries, not to mention the malodorous memento of Malta lodged in the soles of their espadrilles.

My advice to Gżira council is to install CCTV cameras, as they would hopefully act as a deterrent to the offending dog owners in the vicinity. If not, at the very least they would provide endless hours of entertainment for the wardens, as they thrill to the terpsichorean gyrations of the students – while laying bets on which poor wretch is going to “put their foot in it” next.