THE war on dog muck in Darwen is to be beefed up with town council cash.

Cash has been set aside to pay for the roll-out of new bins in the key areas of Bold Venture Park and Olive Lane Park.

The move follows Blackburn with Darwen Council piloting a tough new crackdown on dog fouling in March House and Mill Hill.

Liberal Democrat Simon Hugill welcomed the action but said it was time Darwen Town Council did its bit.

He asked it to put a small sum aside each year to buy and install at least two bins in key parts of the town so dog owners could not complain they had to carry their dirt bags around.

He said it cost around £400 to buy and install a bin, or could be as low as £200 if the council had some old bins left over after the Cathedral Quarter redevelopment of the Boulevard in Blackburn.

He suggested Sough Road in his Marsh House ward as a suitable place.

Town mayor Eileen Entwistle backed his proposal, suggesting that Bold Venture Park was another suitable place.

Sudell councillor Roy Davies said: “We need them in and around Olive Lane Park where I picked up 20 pieces of dog poo on a community clean-up last week, just says after the grass had been cut and the area tidied.”

Deputy chairman Trevor Maxfield said residents who became aware of irresponsible dog owners who did not pick up their pets’ dirt should be reported to the council so they could be visited and warned.

Coun Hugill said: “This is what we want – a proper ‘carrot and stick’ approach; places to get rid of the bags and penalties for irresponsible owners.”

Sunnyhurst councillor Pete Hollings agreed to contact the borough council to see if they had any spare bins, to ensure they would be emptied by refuse staff and to seek promotional material for the drive.

Borough environment boss Jim Smith said: “I am delighted to see Darwen Town Council coming on board our drive to tackle dog muck in this way. It is a blight on the borough. We will do everything we can to help the town council with this.”