She contacted the Tele last month complaining that a communal cleaning service was not being carried out to an acceptable standard, meaning the close was filthy and the area to the rear of the property was a mess with birds scavenging for rubbish. There was also an unsightly, abandoned sofa towards the back of the property.

Miriam was especially frustrated that her attempts at getting the council to act on the situation appeared to be in vain.

However, now, thanks to the Tele, her close is remarkably cleaner, having been chemically treated, a door entry programme is planned for the flats and re-painting of the close is scheduled to take place soon.

Miriam said, “Things have been moving quite fast. The close has all been blasted with jets of chemicals and it’s taken off all the dirt.

“Tayside Contracts have also been spending around 45 minutes to an hour once a week cleaning the close. They were coming in before and just mopping the floor, but now they’re washing the walls too.

“The security door is going in and we all got letters saying this work would be carried out in November, despite the fact we knew nothing about this before.

“The sofa was removed at 8 am the morning after the story was printed. Another suite was left there not that long ago but that was removed really quickly too.

“The bin recess was also secured and rubbish was collected, although there is room for improvement here as it can still be quite messy.

“There have been no more needles found though, which is great as the kids go out every day playing.

“The council have acted quickly since the story was printed. When I was phoning, nothing was being done.

“Thanks so much to the Tele. It’s fantastic — I’m so happy.”

When the Tele initially contacted Dundee City Council regarding the matter, they were assured that following a visit to the area by a housing officer, the stairwells and rubbish would be dealt with. The council also said the controlled door entry programme was in the pipeline, along with re-painting of the close.