Postbag - Do more to catch dirty dogs

DODDINGTON village hall management committee, like 12-year-old Alice Morris, of Westfield Road, Manea, has a deep concern with dog fouling on pavements.The committee has the responsibility of maintaining the footpath on the right-hand side of the hall that leads to the hall's car park. We too have been experiencing an extreme amount of dog dirt being left on the footpath by the selfish and lazy people who cannot bother to clear up after their dogs.The situation has become so dire that we contacted Doddington Parish Council and now have dog fouling penalty notices put up along the stretch of footpath.Unfortunately even the threat of prosecution has not made one iota of difference.Users of our car park are stepping on the dog mess and bringing it into the village hall on their shoes, dirtying our entrance hall carpets and expensive wooden sprung dance floor. The smell is horrendous, lingers unpleasantly even after cleaning and the increasing incidences of this happening is irreversibly damaging both the flooring and carpet.We are asking all dog owners who use this footpath to please clean up after your dog. Your dog is your responsibility and your irresponsible behaviour is having a damaging effect on both the internal structure of your village hall and making the users of the hall's experience very unpleasant. As a committee we too think, like Alice Morris, that more has to be done to catch and prosecute these irresponsible dog owners.The village hall is a place for the community to use for their enjoyment.We are extremely lucky to have such a modern facility in such a small village in the Fens. Please help us keep it clean and tidy for everyone and not land us with a hefty replacement floor or carpet bill.JOANNA HAYWARDSecretary Doddington village hall management committee