A RURAL borough is seeking to extend its controversial controls on dogs.

In 2017, Ribble Valley Council sparked a storm of protest when it introduced a public space protection order to tackle dog mess.

More than 2,500 people signed a petition against the proposed dog control orders.

Councillors decided to drop plans to ban dog owners from letting their dogs roam free in all public paces, such as the Clitheroe Castle grounds, although they still faced fines for not carrying poo bags

Now the borough has launched a consultation on whether the controls should be continued for another three years.

The current order makes it an offence to let your dog foul in public, not be in possession of pet poop bags, let your dog off its lead in Clitheroe Cemetery, allow your dog to enter a playground or sports pitch, refuse to put your pet on a lead if asked by a dog warden, and in charge of more than four dogs at once.

Anyone breaching the order faces a £100 fixed penalty notice or a court fine of up to £1,000.

Ribble Valley Council’s head of environmental health, Ken Robinson, said: “Public space protection orders are intended to deal with a nuisance or problem detrimental to the community’s quality of life.

“We adopted an order in 2017 to help make the borough cleaner, safer and healthier after receiving hundreds of complaints about dog fouling each year and spending thousands of pounds disposing of it.

“Now we want to hear from residents, dog owners or otherwise, on whether they want to see the order continue.”

The consultation runs until midnight on September 13.