Milan Nikolic, owner of the award-winning restaurants La Barca and The Riverbank, told the Advertiser the pavements around his businesses on West Clyde Street were ‘an absolute mess’.

Mr Nikolic said that he hoped the council would pressure wash the streets regularly to keep them clean and stain-free following the £7.23 million investment through the CHORD project.

Mr Nikolic said: “The council have spent all this money for the new pavement and now they are left in an absolute mess. It’s embarrassing.

“We are welcoming tourists, but the streets are disgusting.

“They need to be washed regularly, not swept as that will not clean them – properly washed.

“There are big black marks on the pavements – ice cream, vomit, beer, dog mess.

“It’s a shame to spend that kind of money, there are thousands of tourists coming to Helensburgh.” He also said that over Easter weekend there were thousands of tourists visiting the town and they would not be left with a good impression of the area in its current state.

He said: “The number of tourists that was here recently was crazy with the bank holiday – and the streets are horrible.

“You can’t spend millions of pounds and leave it in a mess.” He also said he would be installing a tap next to his properties so he would be able to jet wash the street in front of The Riverbank and La Barca.

A spokesman for Argyll and Bute Council said that due to ‘financial pressures’ staff numbers had been reduced, and the council would be asking for people to ‘work with them’ to ensure Helensburgh is kept clean and tidy.

He said: “The council would encourage people to take pride in their town and to act responsibly by putting their litter in the bins provided and cleaning the areas immediately outside their premises.

“Due to financial pressures members have agreed savings which have reduced the street sweeping team in Helensburgh from 12 staff in 2011, to eight.

“The team works diligently to ensure the public spaces in Helensburgh are maintained to as high a standard as possible but sometimes we can’t do all that we would like to do for our communities; we need people to work with us to ensure the town is kept clean and tidy.”