Canalside dumped food sparks health fears

And the issue has been raised by Mr Bill Harris (65) from Chatburn Park Drive, who regularly walks with his friend Pennie, a lhasa apso dog.

Mr Harris, a recently retired electrician, said: “People are dumping lots of food on the canal by Clitheroe Road in Brierfield.”

He made it clear that people had been warned they shouldn’t do it and signs have been put up in both English and Urdu, asking them not to dump food.

He said: “There’s a mixture of the communities dumping food there. It varies: pizzas, pizza toppings, grain, chapattis, etc. Dog walkers like me have dogs that eat the food and it can possibly make them ill. Pigeons come down in flipping flocks and they eat it all.”

And he added: “I’ve been to Victoria Park in Nelson and there are problems there, too, with dumped food.

“And here on the Leeds and Liverpool there is food on the canal track as well as in the water. It’s sometimes there for days. How long does it take to fill up pigeons?”

And he said: “Lots of other dog walkers who have talked to me have talked about the problem – and there are concerns about rats, too!”