Warning to dog owners who fail to clean up

Dog owners who allow their pets to foul and fail to clean up are being warned that a renewed effort is being made to tackle and catch those responsible following a spate of instances in Heywood Cemetery, Hare Hill Park and Balderstone Park.

Enforcement officers are patrolling the streets and parks of Rochdale, gathering information, providing advice and handing out bags to any owners who have run out. Fixed Penalty Notices will be handed out to anyone caught allowing their dogs to foul and not picking it up, or dropping litter.

Officers are patrolling known hotspots early in the morning, during the day and in the evening and will issue fixed penalty notices of £50 for dog fouling offences and £75 for littering. This will be reduced to £50 if paid within 7 days but offenders who fail to pay will be prosecuted. Almost 100 Fixed Penalty Notices have been issued over the past year and there have been eight successful prosecutions.

Patrols take place in targeted areas with officers wearing high-visibility clothing and armed with information, stickers and leaflets. Officers are looking to work with local communities to build a strong defence and show the red card to dog fouling in their neighbourhoods.

Service Head Martin Taylor said “Owning a dog is a big responsibility, part of which is to ensure that you pick up and dispose of dog foul properly. Not only is it unpleasant to step in, dog faeces can be dangerous as it carries potentially lethal diseases and can cause blindness.

”To make the problem worse, people often walk their dogs in parks and on fields where children play. It only takes a split second for a child to wipe their eye and catch an infection which causes them to go blind. We are urging owners to always pick up after their dog.”

Residents can report dog-fouling 24/7 via the online form at www.rochdale.gov.uk/dogpoo