THE amount of dog dirt in a 100-acre North-East park has reached the point of being a health hazard, council bosses have warned.

The problem at Summerhill in Hartlepool has increased in recent weeks - and the council says it is threatening people's enjoyment of the site and could lead to health issues.

Now people using the park are being asked to report offending dog owners by local councillors.

Cllr Stephen Akers-Belcher said: "We ran a campaign to tackle dog fouling... earlier this year and our message then was clear - the Council can’t win this battle on its own.

“The same applies in relation to Summerhill and this is why we are calling on people to contact the Council if they have any information about irresponsible dog owners who fail to clean up after their pets whilst visiting the site."

Dog owners who don't clean up will receive £80 fines.

Adam Reah, the council's activities co-ordinator, said: "It is sad that this problem is occurring at a time when the site has never been more popular.

"A significant number of irresponsible people think it is acceptable to leave their dogs’ mess for someone else to clean up.

“Such an attitude is totally unacceptable and inexcusable, especially when we advertise the fact that free disposal bags are available from the visitor centre and we have a number of dog dirt bins dotted around the site."

Summerhill visitor centre's figures are 19 per cent up on last year.