As a Maltese national who has lived and worked abroad for over 40 years I have now returned to live in Malta on a permanent basis. Unfortunately, I have witnessed and experienced several things on this wonderful island that urgently need addressing.

Over the past months there has been a large increase in street sellers and beggars who regularly pester and often intimidate tourists. The beggars appear to be mainly Eastern Europeans.

There have been instances where such people walked into restaurants and bars and ‘requested’ money from both patrons trying to enjoy their evening meal.

I have been informed of several instances of pick-pocketing on the streets of St Julian’s and on buses by groups of young women, suspected to be Eastern Europeans. I have witnessed the same problem spreading in London and unless addressed will grow out of control.

I was under the impression that selling anything on the streets of Malta required a permit.

If this is the case, why is a blind eye being turned to the street sellers who carry around stacks of sunglasses and handbags and do not pay any tax on their sales?

Secondly, several friends from England and Germany have recently visited and stayed in a number of hotels in Malta. They vented their frustration to me and the hotel management at the lack of English-speaking staff.

We have a population of workers who can understand and speak very good English, yet many of the hotels and restaurants are employing staff from abroad who cannot understand anything other than the words on the menu.

Finally, I believe a few more wardens spread across popular tourist areas and promenades would dramatically decrease the amount of dog excrement and general vandalism on public walkways. Heavy fines would act as a deterrent against such things.

This is still a wonderful island and having lived in other countries for several years I see it as a paradise. The points I raise are not to criticise but to hopefully encourage other opinions and bring about some change.

Several of the problems we face as an island are being caused by the now open borders of the EU.

I hope we can embrace this change and benefit from being an EU member rather than being seen as a soft target and taken advantage of as a nation.