Endmoor residents have called for action on dog fouling along the canal path.
Led by local Louise Phillips, residents of Endmoor and surrounding villages wrote to the council to ask for action to be taken after complaints were made about the state of the canal footpath.
The path is used by the Kennel Club during the Lune Valley Agility Show, a week-long event that is one of the largest dog agility shows in the North West of England, held at Westmorland County Showground at Crooklands every June.
Ms Phillips said: “I was out for a run along the canal path and came across 16 lots of dog mess in a patch of just 100m. The situation was getting worse and worse every day.
“In addition, multiple dogs – six to eight at a time - were being walked off the lead by solo dog-walkers with very poor recall. I’ve been growled and barked at, and chased.
“It’s not pleasant for the other users of this beautiful area, so I got in touch with the Kennel Club and the council.”
Residents were encouraged to report to the council any dog mess they found and Ms Phillips says she was pleased with the response.
“The council were straight onto it. I went down the same route on my run a few days later and it was a huge improvement," she said.
Locals were also concerned about the dogs’ behaviour with many saying they had witnessed, ducks and swans being chased in the water, and dogs swimming across to the adjacent fields where livestock was grazing.
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Event organiser Theresa Tomlinson said: “I'd firstly like to apologise for the disruption, this is not what we expect from our competitors. We had club members go down the canal path after we saw the complaints on social media to collect all the poo that has been left."
Any residents or visitors concerned about the state of a public space can report it to the council thanks to the introduction of Public Space Protection Orders that can address anti-social behaviour that is having a detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the community.
The council can issue an initial fixed penalty of £100 to someone who fails to clean up after their dog. Persistent offenders will be taken to court and face a fine of up to £1,000.
