Fight against 'selfish few' who discourage tourists (From The Northern Echo)

Fight against 'selfish few' who discourage tourists

5:33pm Friday 10th February 2012 in Crook & Weardale News By Duncan Leatherdale

A TOWN is being urged to fight back against dog fouling after a family of visitors said they would never return due to the mess.

Officials in Stanhope, which attracts many tourists, have received messages criticising the amount of dog mess in some of the area's most beautiful spots.

One email, from a family, who stayed in Stanhope over New Year, said they are unlikely to return or even recommend Stanhope to their friends after counting more than 30 piles of dog dirt along the popular riverside walk and several more in a children's play area.

Now, responsible dog walkers are being urged to join a scheme run by Durham County Council and residents are being asked to take a zero-tolerance view of the problem.

Mark Farren, the council's enforcement and education manager, urged the public to report incidents so that regular offenders can be caught in the act by officials.

Last year, the town's policing beat team received an award from their chiefs for combating of the problem, but the issue is ongoing.

PC Billy Crampsie and police community support officer (PCSO) Trev Patterson oversaw amass crackdown on dog fouling while workers from Durham County Council clear up the droppings, on one occasion last year using 4,000 litres of water in one day to clean the riverside path.

PC Crampsie said the vast majority of dog walkers are responsible and it is probably only one or two repeat offenders who give the rest a bad name.

PCSO Patterson said the mess can also transmit serious diseases if not cleared and warnings have been sent to local school children.

John Taylor, chairman of the Weardale Visitor Network and board member of the Weardale Action Partnership (Wap), said the authorities are doing their bit to penalise offenders and clear up the mess, but it was time those causing the problems took responsibility.

He said: "We are very lucky to live in this lovely town and quite simply if someone is willing to let it get in such a mess, they don't belong here."

Wap co-ordinator Andrew Walker said: "We do a lot to promote tourism here and the mess left by a very selfish few is undermining the hard work of the many."