TENS of thousands of extra cash is being spent on tackling the ‘blight’ of dog dirt in Burnley and Rossendale.

Burnley Council is spending £114,775 this year after spending £84,824 last year.

Rossendale Council has increased spending from £25,020 last year to £27,000 this year. In 2011-2012 it spent £18,416.

Council chiefs said dog fouling was still a major problem in each borough, with an upsurge in complaints from residents.

Burnley Council leader Julie Cooper said it would take a significant amount of time to address the problem.

She added: “I made this one of my top priorities in May and said residents have every right to hold me accountable if action is not taken.

“Despite budget cuts of £40,000 we have hired an extra dog warden who deals specifically with dog fouling and fines.

“I am confident we have made an improvement but it will take time before the issue is completely addressed because it is very hard to catch people.”

Rossendale Council, which outsources its dog warden service to Animal Wardens Ltd, targets about a third of its budget to catch irresponsible dog owners.

It employs the service on an ‘as needed’ basis particularly in spots near to school playing fields.

Rossendale Council leader Alyson Barnes said: “We are trying to respond using limited resources.”

Stephanie Bridgeman, owner of dog walking business Rossendale Walkies, said: “I’ve not seen much of a difference over the last few years to believe the extra money is leading to improvements because some areas continue to be blighted by dog dirt.”