The website of your local council can be one of the most useful places on the internet.

Most councils now run sites packed with information about hundreds of local services, from registering a baby's birth to finding a school, and you can even fill out forms, book appointments or have your say about local issues online.

For example, if you want to find out what days your rubbish bins are going to be emptied in the next holiday period, your council's website should have the answer.

Find your council

If you're not sure which council area you live or work in, find out by entering your postcode at the 'Up my street' website. It will tell you both your council's name and its website address.

Or if you already know your council's name, you can find its web address at Tagish.

Council services

One practical use of your council's site can be to let the authority know about problems in your street or area that need fixing or sorting out.

Many councils have 'report a problem' forms on their websites, such as that offered by Walsall council.

The Walsall form asks local residents to describe carefully where a problem is, for example whether it is in the street, or near a particular shop or road junction. The form then acts as a hotline to the relevant part of the council.

Examples of problems you might want to notify your council of include an abandoned vehicle, a road repair, graffiti, a broken traffic sign or street name sign, a dead animal on the road or a faulty street light.

If your council's website does not have a form like this, simply use its main e-mail contact address - there should be one on the first page you come to or in a 'contact' section.