Dog walkers could be fined up to £1,000 if they allow their pets to foul a Harborough alley

Dog walkers are being warned that they could be fined up to £1,000 if they allow their pets to foul a blackspot alley in Market Harborough.

Culprits will also be hit hard in the pocket if they dump plastic bags of their animals’ waste on the street or in the countryside right across Harborough district.

Harborough District Council is acting after offenders have been piling up black bags of dog mess in the cut which links The Pastures, off Brookfield Road, Market Harborough, to Wheat Close on a new estate off Lubenham Hill.

Staff have stencilled three white paint signs on to the pavement in the alley warning dog walkers they will be fined up to £1,000 if they don’t clean up after their pets.

New signs have also been attached to bushes spelling out the same message.

And council environmental crime officers are stepping up patrols in the area to crack down on anyone flouting the law.

The council told the Harborough Mail today:

- Leaving bags like this is not acceptable - we believe this may be one person doing this, rather than several

- Our officers will be putting up new signage and stencilling on the footpath this week and removing any bags found

- We patrol parts of the Harborough district daily to check if dog walkers have bags to dispose of their pets’ waste appropriately - and are increasing our patrols in this location

- Anyone caught leaving dog bags like this will receive a fixed penalty notice

- All public litter bins can be used for dog bags

- We have a lot of positive feedback from dog walkers and the majority are responsible when it comes to clearing up after their pets.

The council is getting tough after Cllr Phil Knowles urged dog walkers to put their bags of mess into proper bins instead of throwing them down on the ground.

“These people have managed to scoop up and collect the dog dirt in the first place.

“So why can’t they be bothered to dispose of the bags correctly by putting them in a bin where they belong?

“Simply discarding them in this way is not only anti-social, it’s a potential health hazard,” said Cllr Knowles, who leads Harborough District Council’s Liberal Democrat group.

“The offenders are showing a disgusting disregard for other members of our community in Market Harborough.

“So please stop and think next time.

“And stop leaving bags of dog dirt on our streets and strewn across our open spaces in Market Harborough as well as across the rest of the district.”

An angry local dog walker said: “I’ve picked up six bags of stinking dog mess from this alley in the last four days alone.

“Idiots dump them in the cut as well as in the fields as well.

“These plastic bags won’t degrade for hundreds of years.

“They are a permanent ugly blot on our landscape.

“This is a repugnant thing to do – and gets all dog walkers a bad name,” he said.

“It’s very simple – bag it and bin it.”