A district council is calling on its residents to act as its eyes and ears on the streets to help it stamp out the problem of careless dog owners who let their pets foul public areas.
Officers at Babergh District Council have recently been receiving scores of complaints from concerned members of the public about increasing instances of dog fouling in the Hadleigh, Sudbury and Great Cornard areas of the district.
Now dog owners who fail to clear up after their pet could soon be on the receiving end of a £50 fine – as patrols to combat this anti-social behaviour will soon be stepped up as a result.
And Babergh is urging the public to play their part too – in noting down dates, times and identifying information, such as car registration plates or by passing on photographic or video-recorded evidence from mobile phones – to help catch offenders red-handed and stamp out this anti-social behaviour.
Jo Hart, Babergh’s Environmental Protection Officer, said: “Apart from being unsightly and a nuisance, dog fouling can be a health risk - particularly to children - so it is especially alarming that people are failing to clear up after their dogs in the vicinity of schools.
“Don’t let the thoughtless actions of a few give the dog owners in Babergh a bad name - if you have a dog, please ensure that you always bag its faeces and either put it in a dog bin or double wrap it and put it in your black wheelie bin. Politely encourage others to do their duty too.”
Babergh’s environmental protection officers have recently been patrolling Hadleigh after a number of complaints about dog fouling were received - particularly in Glanville Road, Woodthorpe Road, Tinkers Lane and Lambert Close area.
In the last fortnight, a man was recently fined on one such patrol, having failed to clean up fouling from his dog outside St Mary’s Churchyard in the town.
More patrols across the district are being planned in the coming weeks with officers poised to issue Fixed Penalty Notices of £50 to those caught red-handed.
The Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996 states it is an offence not to clear up after your dog.
Residents can play their part too by letting Babergh know if you see anyone failing to clean up after their dog. It is still possible they could be issued with a fine, especially if the caller is able to give a description of the person and the registration of their vehicle.
The public can report this by visiting the Council Offices on Corks Lane, by calling 01473 826622, or emailing environmental.protection@babergh.gov.uk. ENDS
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