CHILDREN in Hartlepool are giving dog owners lessons in cleaning up after their pets.

Pupils at Fens School, Hartlepool, have designed more than 120 posters carrying a variety of messages urging people to clean up after their dogs.

The posters are being put up around the Fens estate to highlight the problems posed by dog dirt.

The children's efforts follow a successful pilot project involving a local youth group, the Beck Buddies, whose poster campaign helped to clear up the area around the Greatham Beck Local Nature Reserve.

Countryside warden Robert Smith said: "The Fens Primary School pupils showed a lot of enthusiasm and, like the Buddies, produced some well thought out and intelligent designs."

Hartlepool's environmental action officer Keeley Metcalfe said: "Dog dirt is a blight on the environment and poses a lot of health risks, so I'm delighted that young people in the Fens area are taking the lead in trying to tackle the problem."