EXCLUSIVE – No one in village has been fined for dog fouling in five years

After a local father slammed the council for not doing enough to prevent dog fouling, Croxley News discovered that no one in the village had been fined for leaving dog mess. Darren spotted the pile of mess outside Shepherd Primary School, in Rickmansworth, and reported it to Three Rivers District Council. He expressed his concerns over the lack of impact the signs with threat of fines have in Three Rivers and thought more should be done. Following his queries, Croxley News can exclusively reveal that there were no fines for leaving dog mess in the last five years. The issue first arose for Darren when his daughter fell over when playing football and her face missed a dog mess by inches, dog mess can be detrimental to children’s health and could potentially lead to blindness. He said: “Outside the school there was a massive pile of mess, so I called the council and asked them to clear it; their animal welfare person was going to call back but didn’t. It is ridiculous that it is outside a school. If children bring it in on their shoes, which has happened, that could be a pretty serious health issue.” He added: “The council have put some signs up in the area but the threat of a fine is an idle one and I don’t believe until it’s actually enforced this will continue to occur.” Chris Hope, head of community services said: “The vast majority of dog owners are responsible and caring and only a small minority do not always behave responsibly. Our street enforcement team place signs around the district and will prosecute and fine anybody who commits an offence.” “Our PSPO takes a common sense approach to make sure that adults and children can use and enjoy public spaces without experiencing such anti-social behaviour.” Have your say: do you think more needs to be done to prevent dog mess in Croxley? Email leigh@mynewsmag.co.uk