North Herts District Council (NHDC) and Hertfordshire Constabulary have joined forces as part of a summer campaign to engage owners and help tackle dog fouling.

The campaign is the result of a North Herts Community Safety Partnership consultation held earlier this year in which 24 per cent of people said that dog fouling was one of their top five community safety concerns.

NHDC’s enforcement officers and Police Community Support Officers have been out on dog patrols in the district’s parks and recreation grounds, where they gave out leaflets and advice to dog walkers and handed out free dog poop disposal bags. The team of officers have also visited vets to hand out posters.

Cllr Bernard Lovewell, NHDC’s portfolio holder for housing and environmental health said: “Dog fouling is an antisocial behaviour issue which we, together with other agencies, are working hard to tackle. It is a problem perpetuated by a small minority of selfish and irresponsible dog owners and we would urge anyone who witnesses such behaviour to report it to us immediately. There are 411 dog bins available for use across North Herts so there really are no excuses.”

Any incidents of dog fouling or specific problem areas can be reported to NHDC by calling 01462 474000.

Officers will then be able to investigate complaints and patrol problem areas.