‘Be our eyes and ears’ - wardens step up the fight in battle against dog mess in Stroud district

To try and help tackle the issue head on, dog wardens at Stroud District Council are trying a different approach to keeping the streets and parks of the Five Valleys clean.

They are asking the public to be their “eyes and ears” by giving more support to its two full-time wardens to report, identify and fine offenders who continue to break the law.

Dog warden and animal welfare officer Alex Myrie, who has served the Stroud community for 15 years, explained the new tactic and urged the public to get involved.

“As there are only two of us wardens, we can’t be in all places at once,” she said.

“So unfortunately the chances of us being in the right place at the right time to catch someone fouling are very nigh of zero. Basically, we need more eyes and ears.

“We want residents who live and work in communities and take pride in the neighbourhood they call home to help us keep these areas clean.

“Obviously we always appreciate it when people call in and let us know where the mess is. But that doesn’t help us catch people and take action. So we want to take it one step further.

“If you see someone not pick up their dog’s mess and are willing to give us a simple witness statement giving details of the date, time and place, then we can issue them a fine.

“We don’t actually have to see happen it ourselves. We can use your statement as proof.

“If you can catch their name, we can check it against our Electoral Roll and give them a fixed penalty notice of £75. And if you know their address it’s even easier.

“Even if you go walking your dog and see someone pull up in their car who always leaves mess behind, take down their number plate and we can trace them through their DVLA records.

“If it’s a repeat offender who you see walking their dog every morning, tip us off anonymously and we’ll try and be there to catch them in person, no matter how early in the morning it may be.

“There are many ways and means we can go about it. But the main idea is that we can take action with help from the public. Help us to help you.”

With the help of a witness statement, the wardens can serve a penalty notice of £75, which can be reduced to £50 if paid within 10 days.

If it is not paid at all within 14 days the court can impose a maximum fine of £1000.

“If the person challenges the penalty we will be more than happy to taken them to court and prosecute,” added Alex.

“Again here we’d need your help. If we’re using the witness statement they we’d need you to testify against them in court.

“This is a hassle and that’s why it puts some people off. But we think this is about communities standing together to improve the place they live.”

Last year two people were given fines because of information given to the wardens by members of the public. This year Alex is keen to see this number rise.

“We have so many complaints about areas badly affected but no one ever calls us or emails us with details of who is doing it,” she said.

“There are some areas in the district that are usually quite badly affected. At the moment for instance we have complaints about Burn Close in Nailsworth, Forest Green, and Mortimer Gardens.

“We’ve also had complaints about the footpath between the Park schools in Stonehouse, the Glebe Estate in Minchinhampton and areas in Brimscombe, Dursley and Wotton.

“There are also issues at the footpaths near Callowell Primary School and Gastrells Community Primary School. No one wants to see lots of dog mess close to where children play. It can be so dangerous.

“Another thing that people say is just to install more bins. But we already have 500 installed across the Stroud district.

“But installing more doesn’t solve the problem. You could have one on every street and it wouldn’t make a difference. Some people just think they are above the law. And it’s those people we want to catch.”

You can report dog fouling over the phone on 01453754492 or over Facebook. You can also visit www.stroud.gov.uk/report/report-dog-mess-or-fouling-problems