Owners face £80 fines for dogs off leads

♦ A council has proposed introducing “draconian” £80 on-the-spot fines for having a dog off a lead in public.

Owners who let their pets loose on grass verges, allotments and churchyards would face fines under the proposals, which Suffolk Coastal District Council is consulting on. But Therese Coffey MP said: “There are plenty of spaces in Suffolk where there is a village green near a road, where people are quite regularly using that place to throw balls for their dogs.

“I just feel the council needs to go further in stating why it needs these somewhat draconian new powers.”