A COUNCIL crackdown on dog fouling has yielded results with three people already fined since its launch.

Blackburn with Darwen Council has slapped fixed penalty notices on dog owners in the Cherry Tree, Pleasington and Ewood areas of Blackburn.

And council bosses said angry residents have contacted them who have witnessed irresponsible owners leaving their pets’ muck on the ground.

Council chiefs said a man had also been given a fixed penalty for urinating in a back alley at Bank Top.

It is part of the council’s crackdown on pet owners who fail to pick up after their dogs and on litter louts who drop rubbish including cigarette butts and chewing gum.

The council has teamed up with Kingdom Environment Enforcement Services, who will 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.

Those caught littering will receive a fixed penalty of £75, while those failing to clean up dog foul will be fined £100, reduced to £75 if paid within 10 days.

Council bosses have said they were trying ‘to take back the streets’ of Blackburn with Darwen and stop them being tarnished by the ‘disgusting behaviour of a minority’.

Jim Smith, executive member for environment at the council, said people letting their dogs foul and not picking it up were a ‘disgrace.’

He said: “We promised we’d act against irresponsible dog owners, and that’s what we’re doing.

“Letting your dog foul and not picking it up is a disgrace, and I want people who do it to be caught and punished.

“And if you think it’s okay to urinate in public, think again.”

Money made from the fines will pay for the enforcers and be spent on improving the area.

The clampdown saw enforcers wearing bodycams take to the streets of Blackburn last month.

The 12-month pilot scheme will be self-financing, with the costs of enforcement being met from the income from the notices.

This latest initiatives comes after the council launched a campaign to get beggars off Blackburn town centre streets, with bosses asking residents to ‘help stop begging on the streets by giving to charity instead’.