On Sunday, more than 500 youngsters will head to Royston’s Therfield Heath for a day of rugby – but concerns have been raised about children falling in dog poo.
Royston RFC’s mini and youth sides will welcome visiting teams Cheshunt and Luton to Therfield Heath, and the Royston teams’ chairman has said he wants to remind dog owners that their pitches are not a toilet for their pets.
Niall Tallis said: “It really is a thrill to see so many children being active in such a wonderful landscape.
“Unfortunately, the minority of irresponsible dog owners are responsible for numerous incidents of children being smeared in dog mess.
“We regularly remove dog faeces from our pitches prior to games or training, but it is easy to miss some.
“We are thankful for the vast majority of thoughtful owners who support our club and respect the pitches are for children and adults to enjoy sport.”
There was an initiative started last year by the Royston dog poo patrollers – who picked up as much as 16kg of mess while out on the heath.
The rugby club is interested in starting their own an awareness campaign about dogs fouling on the heath’s sports pitches – anyone interested in getting involved should email youth@roystonrugbyclub.co.uk.
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