'THOUGHTLESS dog owners - we’re watching you'.

That is the message on a number of signs which have been put up on a Kendal estate to remind people to clean up after their four-legged friends.

Eamonn Hennessy, district councillor for Kendal East, said the problem seemed to be particularly bad on Sandylands, although he was not sure why. He also highlighted the issues caused by dog poo.

“It’s incredibly unhygienic for a start,” he said.

“It can cause blindness in children. It’s not pleasant when any of us step in it - we’ve all done it.”

And now Cllr Hennessy has used a portion of his £1,000 locality budget to print around 35 signs for use around the estate. They feature a big pair of glow-in-the-dark eyes and advise people to report dog owners not cleaning up after their pets to the council.

“The signs are quite a menacing sight,” said Cllr Hennessy. “A lot of these incidents are taking place around dark. Especially this time of the year.”

In October, Cllr Hennessy teamed up with Sandylands Residents’ Association (SRA) to put leaflets through doors on the estate reminding dog owners of their responsibilities.

Town councillor Adam Edwards, who lives on Sandylands and is chair of SRA, said a number of people had brought up the problem of dog fouling on the SRA Facebook page.

“A lot of people walk to school and things," he said. "They are getting it on their pram wheels, and it’s upset quite a lot of people.!

He added the signs were a good example of the community coming together to fix a problem.

He said: “It’s kind of self-regulating itself. People are standing up to it and saying ‘no, we don’t want this’. I think that’s a good thing.”

The posters, the design of which came from environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, will be spread across Sandylands and have already gone up at locations such as the Spar shop on Sandylands Road.

Cllr Hennessy also said he was waiting to hear whether the district council had any poo bag dispensers in storage which could be used.

He encouraged people to report dog fouling problems by emailing enforcement@southlakeland.gov.uk.