A dog poop crack down is being stepped up to keep Fenland’s open spaces free from animal mess with owners warned they face an on the spot £75 fine if they don’t bag it and bin it.

Cambs Times: Councillor Peter Murphy leads Street Scene team members for theTidy Feland pick up your dog poop campaignCouncillor Peter Murphy leads Street Scene team members for theTidy Feland pick up your dog poop campaign (Image: Archant)

The environmental enforcement campaign hopes to encourage people to report irresponsible dog owners.

In additional, extra patrols will be carried out in the early morning and late afternoon and early evening.

Others will specifically focus initially on open spaces in Chatteris, where there are frequently more reports of dog fouling.

Councillor Peter Murphy, Fenland District Council’s portfolio holder for the environment, said: “It is unacceptable for dog owners to flout the law and ignore their responsibilities to clean up after their pet.

Cambs Times: Street Scene team members for theTidy Feland pick up your dog poop campaignStreet Scene team members for theTidy Feland pick up your dog poop campaign (Image: Archant)

“Dog fouling on public land is a nuisance and also poses a significant health risk to others.

“By increasing our enforcement work around dog offences we hope to reduce dog fouling and also change people’s attitudes and behaviour for the better.

“Litter enforcement carried out as part of the Tidy Fenland campaign has seen a drop in the amount of litter across the district and successful prosecutions for littering and fly-tipping offences, and we hope this new work will have a similar impact with dog fouling.”

Further signs and posters reminding owners to clean up after their pets are being put up in popular dog walking areas and extra patrols are being carried out in hot spot areas by officers from the council’s Street Scene team and private enforcement company, Kingdom.

Anyone caught failing to clean up after their dog by an officer – or reported to the Council by a witness – could be issued with a £75 Fixed Penalty Notice.

The action comes following a rise in the number of dog-related service requests over the winter months.

Fenland District Council launched its Tidy Fenland campaign last summer to crackdown on environmental crimes including littering, dog fouling and fly-tipping.

The campaign coincided with the launch of dog control Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs), which made it an offence not to clean up after your dog. Under the orders, it is also an offence to have a dog off the lead in certain areas and in enclosed play areas.

• Anyone who witnesses a dog owner fail to clean up after their pet is urged to report it to the council streetscene@fenland.gov.uk or online at http://fenland.gov.uk/dogfouling If the witness is willing to provide a witness statement, a Fixed Penalty Notice can be issued. Witnesses are asked to provide the time, date and location of the offence and the name and address of the offender (if known).