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People frustrated about the amount of dogs mess on the Isle of Wight claim they're being ignored by the Council. The local authority says it's stepping up patrols.
Isle of Wight Radio listener Pat Clark from Shanklin says dog mess has become a big problem near her home. She tried to contact Isle of Wight Council on numerous occasions to request that more warning signs be put up in her area but no one has yet returned her calls.
She says she feels she's being ignored. "People like us pay our Council Tax on time, at the end of the day we are paying the dog wardens' wages, so they should make an effort to contact people like us who have a genuine concern."
Pat says she's fed up of clearing up other peoples mess and says dog owners need reminding it's an offence to leave dogs mess on the pavement. "It's anti-social isn't it. We know that those doggie bags are not expensive. We don't have a dog and that makes it even more frustrating, we're cleaning up after other people and it's not nice.
"People get it on there shoes, I've had it on my shoes. It's not on and it's so anti-social and people know it's wrong."
Kevin Winchcombe, Isle of Wight Council principle licensing officer responded saying: "Dog owners are responsible for clearing up after their pets, and failure to do so could result in a heavy fine.
"The council has actually seen a reduction over the last year in the amount of people contacting the local authority reporting dog mess although there has in recent weeks been an increase in reports.
"In response to this we will be stepping up our patrols, particularly at times when people walk their dogs and in the locations where we receive reports of dogs mess being an issue. It is also our intention to reorganise our street based inspection services in the coming year so that more of our inspection officers can monitor and take action against irresponsible dog owners as part of their daily work.
"In order to help us make an effective response, we would encourage residents to report instances of dog fouling to the service on 821000.
"If someone is caught not cleaning up after their dog, and do not have a reasonable excuse, they will be issued with a fixed penalty notice."
Report by Emily Wells
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