Only two dog owners caught out over dog poo

ONLY two dog owners in and around Hinckley were caught failing to clear up dog poo despite more than 200 complaints about the problem.

There were just two dog poo fines issued by staff from Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council between June 2017 and June 2018. That’s despite 223 complaints from people in the borough about the problem.

In one case a fine of £50 has been paid. In the other case the fine hasn’t been paid and council staff are preparing to take the person to court.

The figures were released by the council as a result of a request under the Freedom of Information Act. They follow on from a statement in Janu- ary made by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council executive member for neighbourhood services Mark Nickerson that the council is watching, catching and fining irresponsible dog owners.

He made the comments in the wake of complaints from people living in Bagworth about dog poo in their village.

Commenting on the latest figures Cllr Mark Nicker- son, Executive Member for Neighbourhood Services at Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council said: “It’s a frustrating and disgusting problem and one that is entirely preventable, as so many responsible dog owners prove, if everyone simply picked up after their dog.

“We do fine everyone we catch and we really need the public’s help to do that. We’d encourage everyone to tell us where and when mess is being left so that we can target our enforcement and fine those who repeatedly blight our footpaths by leaving their dog’s mess lying around.”

The law says people who allow dogs to poo in public places and don’t clean it up can be either fined or taken to court where they maximum penalty is a £1,000 fine. The law extends to people who aren’t carrying any poop scoops or anything else to clean up the mess.

The penalty is a £50 fine which must be paid within two weeks. But if the per- son responsible for the dog has been fined before they have to appear in court.

People seeing dog owners failing to pick up after their pets can report the details to Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council on 01455 255977 or email streetsceneservices@hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk. Council staff need to know the date and time the incident happened along with the street name, a description of the dog, a description of the person with it and the number plate if the person was seen getting in or out of a car.