DOG walkers could be slapped with a £100 fine if they are caught in a public place without a poo bag.

Council bosses want to bring in new legislation in Blackburn and Darwen to clean the streets and reduce the number of complaints they receive about dog mess.

A consultation has been launched into the plans, which will form part of a Public Spaces Control Order (PSPO).

If approved the order will also ban dogs from play areas and insist dogs are kept on a lead in cemeteries.

Anyone caught breaching the order will face a fixed penalty notice of £100.

Community leaders hailed the plans, a response to 800 complaints from residents since 2014, as ‘common sense’.

Cllr Jim Smith, borough environment boss, said: “Whenever I go knocking on doors the one thing residents always ask is what are we doing about dog mess.

“We’re lucky to live in an area with so much green open space, these laws will make it so everyone gets the benefit of them.

“It’s just common sense, that’s all we want people to use.

“If you know your dog does two poos on its walk, take five poo bags to be on the safe side.

“When it comes to cleaning up after your dog, these are the same rules that have always been in place, we’re just pursuing them more actively.”

The new order will see council bosses team up with Kingdom Environment Enforcement Services, who already patrol both Blackburn and Darwen town centres, as well as parks, open spaces and problem areas, looking for those who fail to clean up after themselves.

The money made from the fixed penalty notices will be used to finance the enforcement officers, who also fine those who drop litter.

Cllr Smith said the consultation runs until November 17 and if passed will come into power before Christmas.

The Labour councillor said: “The reality is, a vast amount of people are already following these rules.

“These rules won’t be a shock to the average dog owner because they will already be adhering to them.

“We are not banning dogs from parks or woodlands.”

Cllr John Slater, the borough Conservative leader, said: “I think it’s a bit draconian, but at the end of the day if you take your dog out you have to be prepared to clean up after it.

“I would hate to think someone got fined just because they were rushing or thought they had a bag in their pocket but didn’t.

“I would have thought a warning system would be more appropriate rather than a fine for a first offence, because as far as I’m concerned, if someone is rushing they can easily forget to check if they have a bag.

“We don’t live in a draconian world, nothing is black and white, there has to be some leeway with things like this.

“The actual idea is OK though, as long as it’s managed properly.

“There needs to be a media campaign and an implementation period so it would not be a straight-away fine.

“At the end of the day we are here to serve the residents, it is not a dictatorship.”

Ribble Valley Council has already implemented the order and warned dog walkers they face being fined if caught without a poo bag.

The council is now asking residents to have their say on the order by completing a survey online.

Joseph Gillibrand, from Mill Hill, Blackburn, said it’s ‘about time’ council bosses took a hard line with those who don’t clean up after their pets.

He said: “It’s something that really bothers me, everywhere you look around Mill Hill there’s dog muck.

“It’s about time they put a fine in place.

“It makes sense that dogs shouldn’t be allowed in play areas, you don’t want kids near dog mess.”

A Whitebirk resident said: “I think it’s a great idea.

“There’s a man who walks his dog on our street and lets it foul on the grass verge and just leaves it.

“It’s disgraceful because children play on there, where their parents can keep an eye on them.

“I told my partner if I see him again I would say something, now I can tell him about the new laws.”

However, a Blackburn shopper said: “There’s nothing to stop them carrying the bag and never using it.”