New dog dirt team on patrol

Chester-le-Street District Council, which enforces the law, is training more staff to enforce the rules on owners who fail to clear up after their dogs.

Since the start of the year a fixed penalty fine of £50 has been introduced for the offence and for people who drop litter.

And the council is training eight employees, in addition to its environmental enforcement officer, to be its eyes and ears and to issue penalty notices.

The council introduced a by-law against dog fouling in late 1998 and since then has taken 29 people to court for the offence and issued cautions to more than 300 people.

Council leader Malcolm Pratt said: "It is unfortunate that we have had to take these measures because of the inconsiderate action of members of the public.

"Dog fouling is not only a health hazard but extremely unpleasant.''

The council environmental enforcement officer, John Taylor, said Government legislation meant that the council could issue fixed penalty notices instead of prosecuting people in court.

If people do not pay the £50 within two weeks they could still be taken to court where they could be ordered to pay £1,000.

He said the by-law had encouraged owners to clear up their pets' mess with poop scoops.

"You certainly see people picking up mess but there is still a problem in certain areas.

"By having more people to issue fixed penalties we hope more people will follow the law.

"The more enforcement we do, the more the message will get across, but there are people who no matter how hard you try will not get the message.''

Dog mess exposes children to diseases such as toxocariasis, which can lead to blindness.

People who drop litter face fines of up to £2,500 under the Environmental Protection Act if they do not pay the fixed penalty.

People who see dogs fouling or dropping litter can report offenders to the council.

The council provides free poop scoop bags at its Civic Centre headquarters in Newcastle Road.