Darwen children fight back against irresponsible dog owners (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Darwen children fight back against irresponsible dog owners

5:00pm Saturday 1st December 2012 in News

PUPILS at a Darwen school have called ‘foul play’ over people who let their dog use the pavement as a toilet.

Children from Darwen Vale High School have joined forces with Blackburn with Darwen Council and the police to tackle the issue of dog mess in public places.

The pupils, who are members of the Darwen police cadets, were leading a ‘Foul Play’ campaign that saw them design posters to encourage people to be responsible dog owners.

They also surveyed shoppers in Darwen Market to find out what people thought about the issue and how they thought it should be tackled.

The young people were joined by officers from the council, which has called for residents to help it crack down on the problem as part of its Your Call campaign.

Officers were recruiting people to join the council’s Dog Solutions workshops, which give people advice on how to be the front line in tackling dog mess.

Council leader Coun Kate Hollern said: “This is a brilliant example of the Your Call campaign in action and I am delighted that these young people have decided to take a stand and say enough is enough.

“People are fed up with irresponsible dog owners failing to do their duty and clean up after their pets.

“It is not only disgusting but a health risk as well.”

Darwen Vale deputy headteacher Dave Hallam said: “It is good to see our pupils volunteering to raise public awareness on this issue through community projects.”