School 'has to clean dog poo from park off kids'
GoogleStudents' shoes are having to be washed down after walking through a park with a dog mess problem, a primary school worker has said.
Ellen Taylor, who works at St Anne's Primary School in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, said dog poo seemed to be "everywhere, all over the paths, all around the walkways" at Cockton Hill Recreation Ground.
Her son's football game at the park last month also had to be stopped twice as players dodged mounds of dog mess, despite parents already picking up 30 bags before the game, she said.
Durham County Council said it was dog walkers' responsibility to dispose of their pets' waste but it had put on extra neighbourhood warden patrols and signs in the area.
Taylor said: "Quite often our children come to school having walked on the paths surrounding and it's on their shoes.
"Members of staff are having to clean children up and wash shoes down."
The Escomb Warriors youth football team had stopped using the pitch last year because of the dog fouling issues, but booked the pitch for a single game last month.
"It was a problem week in, week out," Taylor said.
"The problem seems to have escalated rather than any improvements being made."
'It's just not on'
She thought there were "more than enough bins" and said wardens needed to use their powers to fine people to deter the behaviour.
"Nobody should be cleaning up other people's dog mess," Taylor said. "It's just not on."
She also said, from speaking to other park users, the online reporting system needed to be made more accessible.
The Reform-led local authority said it understood residents' frustration.
Senior neighbourhood warden manager Belinda Snow said: "Extra signs have been erected in the area, and our neighbourhood wardens have also carried out extra patrols to speak to any dog owners who they see not picking up after their pets."
Snow said dog fouling could be reported online or people could call customer services and staff would help them report it.
"The main details we need are the names or descriptions of the offenders and their dogs, the type of dog or dogs involved, and the location and time of day the offending typically takes place," she said.
