Plea to Hartlepool dog walkers to clean up after their pets

The appeal has been issued by Councillor Sue Little, chair of Hartlepool Borough Council’s neighbourhood services committee, ahead of the upcoming summer season.

She said: “Whilst the council does not drop litter or foul the footpaths, we are expected to clean it up and our staff do an amazing job day-in day-out.

“Most people are supportive and I thank them for that.

"I’m particularly grateful to the army of volunteers who regularly turn out in all weathers to pick litter in local communities across the borough.

“However, it frustrates me that a minority continues to think that it is acceptable to drop litter and to leave dog dirt on footpaths, beaches and in parks and open spaces where it can pose a serious health hazard, particularly to playing children.”

The advice to residents and visitors is to always bin their litter on location or to take it home and dispose of it there.

Got a story for the Mail? Submit your words, pictures and videos here

Dog owners are asked to put their pets’ bagged faeces in one of the dedicated bins provided in various locations by the council or in a general litter bin.

If there is no bin available then it should be taken home for disposal.

The council said bagged dog dirt should never be left hanging from bushes and trees as this only creates an even bigger environmental problem.

Councillor Little, who is an independent ward councillor for Seaton Carew, said: “A lot of change is currently taking place across Hartlepool, with millions of pounds being invested in new state-of-the-art leisure facilities and regeneration schemes.

“As a council we are committed to developing Hartlepool as a destination that people want to keep returning to and it is important to ensure that their first impressions of the town are always positive.”

The council also has the authority to prosecute offenders.

A 21-year-old woman was recently slapped with a £428 court bill after she was convicted by Teesside magistrates in her absence of failing to clear up dog dirt from a back alley in the Oxford Road area of town.