Ellesmere dog walkers fall foul over pet deposits
People in Ellesmere say they are fed up of the amount of dog mess on the town's footpaths, towpaths and sports grounds.
The problem of dog walkers not picking up their pet's poo is becoming a real problem in Ellesmere, residents say.
They want to see dogs banned from sports grounds and visits to the area by a council enforcement officer.
Helping to publicise the problem are Ricky Roberts and Lou Baines.
Lou said: "At a weekend, Ellesmere and Colemere are visited by a lot of dog owners, which only increases the amount of non-picker uppers.
"Canal boat dog owners appear to be particular culprits. There is one boat moored at the moment with a ring of dog poo on the towpath, the area at the Wharf being particularly bad."
The pair say that dogs should be banned from all the local playing fields, including the cricket ground and football field, at all times.
"The amounts of dog poo on these areas is appalling with risks including skidding and stepping in faeces," said Lou.
Recently Ellesmere Cricket Club posted on the community facebook page that a large number of dog walkers use Ellesmere Cricket Club to exercise their pets.
It said: "Whilst as a club we don't mind people using the facility please have some respect and clear up your dogs' mess. Children play here as well as the adult teams. It's not nice and it's not safe, why should ground staff who are volunteers have to clear it up."
Lou said: "Ellesmere Community news has, weekly, a member highlighting the problem on a personal basis. Personally I walk on the road where I am able to do safely, to avoid 'poo dodging' on the pavement.
"When I have no alternative but to use the pavement I spend 90 per cent of the time with my head downward, scanning the pavement to avoid stepping in it."
"One one walk from Brownlow Road to the Wharf then back through town we observed 27 poos in various states of smear, trodden in and fully formed perfection.
"Ellesmere needs to be educated in taking responsibility for their dogs."
Lou and Ricky are urging dog walkers to use bio-degradable poo bags and the many bins provided and maintained by the council or take the poo bag home.
"Pick it up, bag it and bin in," Ricky said.
"With the amount of dog poo around Ellesmere I would have thought a fixed penalty/fine would be lucrative for an enforcement officer visiting the area and it would be a deterrent to both local residents and visitors."
