Campaign launched to clamp down on dog mess in streets

There are currently about eight million dogs in Britain, producing a million metric tonnes of faeces each year – that's enough to lay 1,300 Wembley pitches.

Many dog owners responsibly throw away a large proportion of this mess, but there are still owners out there who are prepared to leave their dog's mess littered on streets, parks and countryside.

Dog mess can be thrown in any general litter bin but a recent Keep Britain Tidy survey shows that four-out-of-five people are not aware of that.

Keep Britain Tidy today launches its latest campaign to combat the problem, calling on dog owners to bag and bin their dog's mess. Chief Executive of Keep Britain Tidy Phil Barton said: "Dog fouling is the most offensive type of litter on our streets and is constantly rated as one of the most important issues blighting their local area by the public.''

In recent years, there has been a growing problem of dog waste bags found hanging on trees, on railings or stuffed in hedges.

Calderdale Council is just one of 85 partner councils across England which has joined Keep Britain Tidy to clean up their streets from dog mess. It and other authorities across West Yorkshire will work with internal and external partners such as community housing, registered social landlords and neighbourhood forums and dog-related outlets to promote the anti-dog fouling message.

Dog wardens will take to the streets with waste bags and poop scoops plus increased enforcement. They hope to achieve a 25 per cent reduction in the amount of irresponsibly disposed dog waste by increasing enforcement.

Calderdale will monitor the amount of dog fouling on a specific, agreed area and the numbers of complaints received in each area will also be monitored.

Council portfolio holder for economy and environment Coun Barry Collins said: "The council received almost 5,000 complaints regarding dog fouling in the last financial year.

''We recognise that it is a really important issue for Calderdale residents and we hope that this campaign will bring about some real changes."