A PARK user has hit out at other dog walkers who she says are ruining the area for others by allowing their pets to use it as a toilet.
Anne Robson, whose grandchildren use Bearwood Park in Winnersh after they come out of nearby Bearwood Primary School and walks her and her daughter’s dog there, says she has seen dog walkers allowing their pets to foul the area despite at least three warning signs and three dog bins.
Mrs Robson said: “It just really annoys me that you go across the field and there is all this poo. A lot is round the edges because they don’t cut the grass there but footballers, because the ball often goes into the grass, they can tread in it.
“But there is also lots in the middle – it’s where children might run.”
Mrs Robson says she can excuse some older dog walkers who may not be able to pick up the mess, but “others are just so busy on their mobile phones they are not aware of what their dogs are doing”.
A fine of up to £1,000 can be imposed on people who let their dogs foul the park but Mrs Robson says it seems to have little effect.
Many have voiced their concerns on the Winnersh Community Info Facebook page and some say the problem is bad on nearby roads as well.
Many of those who have commented are dog owners themselves and angry at those who do not pick up the mess.
Winnersh Parish Councillor Phil Ray, who is on the recreation and parks committee, has brought the matter up with both the parish and borough councils but he was disappointed to learn little enforcement exists.
He said: “I have a bee in my bonnet about it. We’ve had signs put up on lampposts but I was told that no-one has ever been fined for it in the Wokingham borough.”
Cllr Ray discovered that in 2012 Blaenau Gwent council used a private contractor to enforce fines and 1,099 were issued.
In the winter Cllr Ray collected up several bags full of dog mess from pavements near the park and said he plans to discuss the problem at Winnersh Parish Council’s recreation and amenities committee meeting tonight (Tuesday).
