Llanrwst launches campaign against dog fouling

Feb 25 2010 by Samantha Castle, North Wales Weekly News

DOG dirt is causing such a stink in one Conwy Valley town that the local council, dog warden and North Wales Police are asking for residents’ help in catching irresponsible owners and their pets at foul play.

Llanrwst mayor Pat Rowley is furious with dog owners after the number of incidents of dogs fouling in the town increased.

“Our streets are literally covered by a blanket of dog dirt,” she said.

“It is really bad on Bridge Street, School Bank Road and Nebo Road. Parents and children are having to dodge the mess with every step, it’s disgusting and a health and safety risk.

“We are now working closely with the dog warden Barbara Cowling and PCSO Delia Bellis to distribute leaflets and encourage people to be more responsible with their pets and for fed-up residents to alert the authorities of constant offenders.”

PCSO Bellis has been covering Llanrwst for the past five years and agreed the problem had significantly increased. She is stepping up the campaign against irresponsible pet owners.

“The problem of dog fouling has got progressively worse in Llanrwst, but I must stress it is only down to a minority of dog owners,” she said.

“Before now we took a more lenient approach to offenders by trying to educate them and give out dog mess bags rather than fine them, but we are now stepping up our campaign against the problem and working with the community and the dog warden and we will be enforcing fixed penalty notices of £75 to anyone caught not picking up after their pets.”

Since 2007 council dog wardens have only issued two fixed penalty notices for dog fouling in Llanrwst.

“This is why the dog warden is working with the town council on a new Llanrwst campaign,” said Bethan Lloyd, Conwy’s principle environmental health officer.

“We are launching a 10-week campaign to clamp down on offenders from April and will be targeting ‘hot-spot’ areas including Llanrwst and Llanfairfechan.

“As well as the dog wardens and PCSOs issuing fines we have an unmarked CCTV van which goes out three times a week,” she added.

“We also need the community's assistance to tackle the problem. If residents are aware of any hot spots or problem owners, they can contact Conwy’s dog wardens on 01492 575222.”