DOG owners taking their pets for a walk at a popular Lake District beauty spot have no excuse now for dumping dog poo bags in bushes, tied to tree branches or stuffed into walls.

Two dog bins for disposing of the bags have now been installed at White Moss Common, Rydal, all thanks to a bit of bad publicity in The Westmorland Gazette earlier this year.

Outdoor volunteer Gordon Emery told Lakes Parish Council in February that White Moss and Grasmere were by far the worst areas for discarded dog faeces, and parish handyman Robin Lees reported that he regularly filled entire black sacks full of bags, containing dog droppings, he had picked up and collected.

The Gazette report caught the attention of Glasdon UK Limited, Blackpool, which produces a wide range of litter bins, including dog waste bins, and the company offered to donate two new dog bins, free-of-charge, to Lakes Parish Council for White Moss Common.

The report was also read by staff at Lowther Estates, landowners of White Moss, who offered their services to install the new bins.

Mr Lees, who picked up more than 700 discarded dog poo bags last year, has been campaigning for several years to get dog bins installed, and is delighted that they have finally materialised.

"As far as I'm concerned it's a step in the right direction," Mr Lees told the Gazette. "I have been trying for two or three years by counting the number of dog poo bags and, until this year, I have been totally ignored."

He said he had concerns that everyone would dump their other rubbish in the bins and that it was too early to say what impact the new installations were having.

"It certainly will make my job easier," he said. "At least I can go to the bins and collect most of the rubbish because walking around that car park can be absolutely dreadful. It will quicken the job at least."

However, he described it as "unfortunate" that none of the authorities, including South Lakeland District Council and Lake District National Park Authority, appear to provide any maintenance or servicing of car parks, despite the high parking charges and their location within the national park, now a World Heritage Site.