Pendle Council vows to crack down on dog fouling after number of fines handed out plummets by 91% in three years

The council handed out just eight fines for dog fouling last year and have issued nine so far this year, with enforcement plummeting by 91% during the pandemic, from 91 penalties in 2019.

David Walker, the council’s environmental services manager, says punishments can be difficult to enforce due to a lack of information about offenders.

David said: “Dog fouling is an environmental crime and we can give anyone seen not clearing up after their dog an on-the-spot fine called a fixed penalty notice of £100.

“Anyone who doesn’t pay a fixed penalty notice can be prosecuted in court for a maximum fine of £1,000.“We issued the highest number of fixed penalty notices in 2019 - the year we went into partnership with District Enforcement to help tackle the problems of littering and dog fouling.

“The figures went down steeply during the pandemic as we had to suspend all our enforcement activities to concentrate on critical services, such as refuse collection.“And there was also the obvious concern for the safety of staff and our residents. During this time, our District Enforcement Officers were furloughed.“We are now able to step up our efforts again as District Enforcement has recruited a new District Enforcer for Pendle and a new Regional Manager (North).“Officers already patrol areas where we receive reports of fouling, but as they have to wear a uniform this acts as a deterrent and we find whilst patrolling everyone abides by the law and removes the dog poo.”

He added: “It is also hard to capture an offender as we’re often provided with very little information to go on.“We’re asking local people to help us catch offenders by providing us with as much detail as possible. For example, people flag up that offences are taking place in the late evening or early morning. But we don’t have the resources for an officer to wait for several hours for a particular dog walker to appear.”“By working together, we can catch the people who are letting our community down and having a bad impact on neighbourhoods, and make a real difference.”

To report dog fouling, littering and fly-tipping, visit www.pendle.gov.uk/doitonline