Council bags dog fouling offenders

Irresponsible dog owners are being asked to sit up and take notice after two Leeds people fell foul of the law.

Following a clamp down on people who don’t pick up after their pets, a man from Bramley and a woman from Cross Green were found guilty of various offences last Friday.

Sonny Allanson of Henley Road was ordered to pay a £200 fine plus £494 in costs and an additional £15 victim surcharge at Leeds Magistrates Court for failing to clean up after his dog.

Lindsey Cunningham of Cross Green Avenue was facing prosecution for two different offences. She was fined £600 for ignoring legal notices to clean up her dog-filth filled garden and also fined £200 for failing to pay a fixed penalty notice after allowing her dog to foul in the street. She was ordered to pay a total of £1308.84 in costs for both cases as well as a £15 surcharge.

Councillor Mark Dobson, executive member for environmental services said:

“There’s no excuse for not picking up after your dog. People have been given fair warning that it’s irresponsible and illegal to not clear up after your dog, not to mention unpleasant, so we will prosecute.

“We’re not standing for this type of behaviour as we don’t want you to stand in it.”

Allanson landed himself in a mess in October 2011 after a dog warden stepped in the dog muck he’d failed to pick up.

The warden was putting up extra signs warning against the offence of dog fouling when he noticed Allanson and his Jack Russell on a grassed area.

Despite there being several existing no fouling signs in clear view, Allanson allowed the dog to do its business before casually strolling away.

To make sure Allanson could not deny any wrongdoing and in case he demanded to see proof as many people do, the warden made an effort to mark the location of the waste. Unfortunately for the warden, leaves obscured the dog dirt and he stood in it.

Although Allanson managed to get away at the time, a tip off from the member of the public allowed the warden to track him down.

Cunningham came to the attention of enforcement officers back in January 2011 when they noticed large amounts of dog mess accumulating in her back yard.

With three large dogs being allowed to the use the back yard as a toilet, Cunningham was repeatedly asked to clear up and advised it would be best to disinfect the yard three times a day.

With numerous complaints from local residents and councillors, officers visited the Cross Green property 23 times over the course of the year but only found the yard clean on two occasions. Officers also noted that on some days the mess was so bad, it had spilled from the yard into the street.

Due to the severity of the mess, two legal notices were served on Cunningham – a public health notice and a statutory nuisance notice but both were ignored, leading her to court.

Further action was taken against Cunningham earlier this year when she was issued with a fixed penalty notice for allowing one of her dogs to roam unattended and to foul the street. She failed to pay the fine.

If you know of someone who persistently fails to pick up after their pet, report them on 0113 222 4407 or email environmental.action@leeds.gov.uk.

For media enquiries please contact:
Amanda Burns, Leeds City Council press office (0113) 395 1577
e-mail: amanda.l.burns@leeds.gov.uk

ENDS