Residents blighted by dog fouling in the city are being urged to keep a dog poo diary by city council officials.

Preston City Council spends £100,000 a year cleaning up after irresponsible dog owners.

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Now the environmental health team at the council wants local residents to help them catch those responsive.

Jonathan Cruickshank, environmental health officer, said; “Most owners are responsible – the city actually has a 98 per cent pick up rate, which is reassuring. But we find even though people complain about dog fouling at meetings, few report it directly.

“There are two dog wardens covering 55 square miles and they can’t be everywhere at once so we are urging people to fill in diary sheets we have made to keep track of problems.

“Just one loose dog in an area could potentially lead to around 14 piles of dirt in a week, so what is a single animal can quickly look like a big problem.

“People often don’t realise that not clearing up dog foul is a crime.”

Not cleaning up after your dog could land you with an £80 fine.

In March this year a Deepdale man was fined £920 for failing to clean up after his dog.

The city council’s dog wardens ha1ve worked with volunteers to introduce the Preston Carnine volunteers.

23 of them, many of them dog walkers, help the council gain information about dog foulin and out of control dogs across Preston.

Anyone who spots dog poo being left by an owner should report it to the council by either calling 01772 906 007, reporting it on the council website or using the website FixMyStreet.

Is there a problem with dog fouling in your area? Let us know in the comments below