Volunteers sought to tackle dog foul issues

The idea came out of discussions between residents and borough council officials as the community begins a campaign to reduce the number of people who allow their pets to foul the streets.

Volunteer wardens will give information to the council about dog fouling incidents as well as helping to persuade more people to bag up and dispose of dog mess.

The talks also centred on the launch of a new scheme called ‘take a bag, leave a bag’ aimed at encouraging owners to be more responsible.

Glynn Cartwright, of the Melton Dogwatch action group, who was at the meeting with the council, said: “The volunteer street wardens would initially provide Melton Council with some much-needed information.

“Ongoing they will be required to oversee the running of the ‘take a bag, leave a bag’ scheme.

“Longer term, we hope to include a Keep Melton Tidy scheme working closely with other local volunteer groups.”

Mr Cartwright added: “The bag scheme is something we think will help to reduce dog fouling in Melton.

“It’s a scheme whereby dog walkers can take a bag if they do not have one or leave a bag if they have some to spare for other dog walkers.

“We are already starting to get support for this scheme which we hope to launch shortly.

“I have spoken to a vets in Melton and they will be the first place in the town to start the scheme.”

The talks with the council came after councillors agreed at a meeting last month to crack down on dog fouling offenders with a campaign of rooting out culprits and educating people not to do it.

A sum of £7,000 was also set aside for a major clean up of dog mess on the streets.

Mr Cartwright and his colleagues have identified several new areas affected by the problem, following an appeal for information on the Melton Neighbourhood Watch page.

That resulted in 30 areas being named with many not known to the council, which is targeting the worst parts of the town with posters and clean-ups.

“The good news is, Melton Council will be looking into monitoring these new areas,” said Mr Cartwright.

“We also want to advise residents who exercise dogs in public places that all council litter bins can be used to dispose of dog mess.

“The dog mess must be scooped into a bag and the bag then sealed before being put into the litter bin.”

A meeting is planned at Melton Country Park’s visitor centre area on May 6 to explain more and recruit volunteer wardens.

Email [email protected] to register an interest in becoming a warden.