Clean-up call on dog mess
Irresponsible dog owners are creating health hazards near schools in Kidderminster by refusing to clear up after their pets.
Irresponsible dog owners are creating health hazards near schools in Kidderminster by refusing to clear up after their pets.
Parents have now called for a general clean-up campaign of the streets and areas surrounding Comberton Avenue and Comberton First and Middle School.
They want dog owners to take responsibility for their pets and help take a pride in the area
The calls follow a damning report last year which claimed the Wyre Forest district had some of the dirtiest streets in the Midlands.
The report commissioned by the GMB, Britain's public sector union, found that 21 per cent of streets in the district had unacceptable levels of litter and debris.
Wyre Forest ranked 132nd out of the 339 local authorities in the United Kingdom with Stoke-on-Trent topping the league of shame with 39 per cent of its streets considered dirty.
The findings were compiled using information supplied to the Audit Commission by Wyre Forest District Council in 2004/2005.
Councillor Marcus Hart, Wyre Forest District Council's cabinet member, said at the time that the figures had shown that 79 per cent of Wyre Forest streets were clean and that fixed penalty notices had been introduced for dog fouling.
Liberal county and district councillor Mike Oborski said: "The whole point is that dog fouling is not merely unsightly, it is also a real threat to health, particularly to children. We implore the minority of dog owners involved in the problem around the Comberton Avenue area and local schools to be careful where they take their dogs and to use pooper scoopers."
Comberton Middle School head Julie Reilly said that she was not aware of any prob- lem. "We have not had a problem with dogs on the school site and definitely not during the school day. I have not been informed of any problems."
Councillor Oborski has now advised parents or anyone concerned about the problem to raise the matter with West Mercia Police officers at the next Offmore and Comberton PACT meeting at st Chadd's Church Hall on Comberton's Burcher Green at 7pm on January 29.
