A DOG owner found herself in a fine mess when she was caught by a council ‘pooper snooper’ in a town park failing to pick up her pet’s muck.

The woman was handed an £80 fixed penalty notice after an early morning ‘poop swoop’ at the Angus Buchanan Recreation Ground in Coleford.

News of last month’s incident was posted online by the Forest of Dean District Council, which said the woman had been seen to commit the offence by officers out on ‘pooper’ patrol.

The tweet with dog and red card symbols said: “Caught red handed! A woman was observed failing to pick up her dog’s waste this morning at the Angus Buchanan Recreation Ground in Coleford as part of an early morning patrol aimed at catching dog fouling.

“She was issued an £80 on the spot Fixed Penalty Notice.”

Wyedean councils have been trying to do more to deter dog owners from behaving anti-socially by not picking up their dogs’ mess.

Street wardens recently held Give Dog Fouling the Red Card days in Newent and Monmouth, under the message ‘Bag it and Bin it’.

But the extent of the problem has been highlighted by people in Caldicot, which is set for a £10m high street upgrade, getting all steamed up over piles of dog muck littering a path beside the local school and church.

A stream of angry comments on the Caldicot Community Facebook page came after a nursery group owner expressed her disgust at taking youngsters for a walk while dodging piles of mess.

Gail Davies posted a photo of the muck and stormed: “Myself and the staff at Red Robins nursery took our children for a walk around the field at the back of Castle Park school yesterday and we were thoroughly disgusted at the amount of dog mess on the path.

“At least nine times we had to dodge the mess. This path is right next to the school and is used quite frequently by children. Be responsible and pick it up.”

Fellow posters decribed the state of the path and other areas as “shocking”, “dreadful” and “disgusting”.

“Not only do people not pick it up, but some even dump theirfull bags. There were nine bags in the lane behind the vets,” said Anne Beasley.

“I’ve got two dogs and would never dream of not bagging it and taking it home.”

Churchgoer Mary Lewis added: “I walk that path to church every Sunday… it’s disgusting and there’s no excuse for it because there’s a dog poo bin at both ends.”

Laura-Louise James said: “It always gets stuck to the wheels of my daughter’s pram and it’s disgusting,” while Shirley Little stormed: “Ì cannot believe that people walking dogs don’t carry poo bags, it’s utterly disgusting, makes my blood boil.”

Ganna Block added: “As a dog owner, who always have spare bags in every coat/jacket, I’m always picking up other dogs mess.

“It makes my blood boil to see this all over Caldicot.

“The council threatens fines but as far as I know, no-one has been fined.

“We desperately need cameras or wardens and education... anyone caught should attend a course in social behaviour, which they have to pay for.”

Enforcement officers and the police can issue fixed penalty notices to owners who fail to pick up their dog’s mess, and if a person refuses and is taken to court they can be fined up to £1,000.

Monmouthshire County Council’s environmental health and waste and street cleaning teams recently joined members of Monmouth Town Council, the police and other public bodies to raise awareness.

Stickers were put on dog bins reminding owners that if a bin is full to use litter bins for bagged dog mess or take it home and place it in their own household waste.

Officers visited areas where dog fouling is an issue, including Rockfield Community Centre and football pitch, the Chippenham Mead playing fields, Wyesham Avenue and Woodland View, and the pavement outside Kymin View School.  

A special awareness event at Newent Arboretum also encouraged responsible dog ownership following complaints of dog fouling there. 

Newent Town Council and the Forest Council jointly organised the event, which saw street wardens and councillors speaking to dog walkers and giving out free dog poo bags, donated by the Dogs Trust.