REDDITCH borough council has not issued a single fine for dog fouling in almost four years.
This is despite the council’s own website warning: “It is an offence for a dog owner not to clear up after their dog has fouled on any open public land. Districts are patrolled regularly and wardens can issue an on the spot fine of £75 to any person who fails to clear up after their dog.”
For many residents it’s a growing problem and they’re calling for the council to start cracking down on it.
One householder, John Smith, was so concerned he put in a Freedom of Information request on the issue, and discovering that Redditch had issued no fines.
He said: “It doesn’t make any sense to me why they wouldn’t issue more fines.
“They could be getting some revenue as well as cleaning up the town, but it doesn’t seem to be something they are interested in.”
However the borough’s head of environmental services, Guy Revans said it wasn’t that easy.
“The law states that on-the-spot fines, or fixed penalty notices, can be served by an officer with the relevant powers if they witness the offence in action,” he said.
“Then they will ask the offender to clear it up, as we believe in an ‘education first’ approach and, so far, no-one has refused to work with us.
“Of course it’s all about being in the right place, at the right time so we do rely on information from members of the public about persistent offenders.”
