DOG mess left on the streets of Burnley is to be sprayed bright red in a bid to tackle the ‘disgusting’ problem.

The parish council in Briercliffe has invested in a bio-degradable spray that they hope will shame dog owners into picking up after their pets.

The patch of grass in Harrison Street, behind St James’s Church, was the first to be targeted by councillors, and the allotments and Walverden Road will also be the target of the new spray.

Councillor Anne Kelly, who chairs the parish council, said: “We need to highlight the problem as it is absolutely disgusting.

“Owners will let their dog foul and think nobody else is doing it, but they are and it all adds up.

“On the grass in Harrison Street I must have sprayed 40 separate bits of dog poo in 100 yards.

“I would say it is a problem that is getting worse in the area.

“It is disgusting and is dangerous to people.”

The parish council is currently only targeting the three areas in the village as a trial scheme to see if it is successful.

Councillor Kelly said: “By spraying it bright red it will highlight the problem and open people’s eyes to it.

“We hope that it will make people realise that it is unacceptable to let their dogs foul the streets.

“You can put signs up but dogs can’t read, and the owners clearly aren’t paying attention to them.

“It only takes a couple of bad dog owners to give the rest a bad name.”

Burnley Council said tackling dog fouling was a ‘top priority’.

In 2012/13 there were 201 fixed penalty notices issued across the borough, with 47 going to prosecution.

In 2013/14, there were 211 notices, with 89 going to prosecution.

Councillor Tony Harrison, Burnley Council’s executive member for community services, said: “Burnley Council has made tackling dog fouling a top priority.

“We have taken on an extra dog enforcement officer and other staff are trained to issue on-the-spot fines to irresponsible owners who don’t clean up after their dog.

“We work closely with partners such as the Dogs Trust, schools and community groups to get the ‘clean it up’ message across and we’ve established a working group to look at improving the council’s dog services as a whole.

“The aim is to stop this unacceptable anti-social behaviour and if that means handing out more fines and taking a hard-hitting approach then that is what we will do.”