Each parish in the city had its own street scavengers and official jakesmen to clean out the public facilities; their carts trundled the streets at night, when they would cause the least nuisance. Local laws required that private householders hire these men regularly to clean out their own homes and carry the waste away. Sadly, not everyone was as conscientious as they should have been, and prosecutions for overflowing privies causing offence to the neighbours were frequent.
