A SCHOOL community is appealing to dog owners to clean up after their pets.

Parents and governors at Escomb Primary School, in Escomb village, near Bishop Auckland, say irresponsible pet owners who allow dogs to foul footpaths near their homes are ruining what should be a pleasant trip between school and home.

They are especially angry about the state of a path that links the school to Beckett Close, in nearby Etherley Dene.

Mother-of-three Lisa Shaw, a parent governor and secretary of the Parent Teacher Association at the school, said about 30 children from the estate are being forced to avoid the route because of dog fouling.

Mrs Shaw said: "We asked Wear Valley District Council to help and they did a wonderful job cleaning it up, but almost straight away people were letting their dogs go to the toilet in the middle of the path and not cleaning up.

"Walking to school is the healthy option and it should be a pleasant path for families to use, but this problem ruins it."