Councils may be paying through the nose to clean-up dog pap - but some are still failing to collar those who let their pooch poo in parks and on streets and beaches, which means the nation’s biggest pet hate is on the rise again.

So says research published today (Monday 6th December 2004) by Keep Britain Tidy – which shows that while the annual cost of shovelling-up stood at £22 MILLION, less than 1,000 errant owners paid on the spot fines for letting their dog dump on public land during the last six months of the year.

“Because we have a dog-eared approach to fining, irresponsible owners in some parts of the country are being brought to book swiftly, while offenders in other areas get away scot-free” said Alan Woods, Chief Executive of Keep Britain Tidy.

“Until we change this situation, dog dirt will be present on our streets and where our children play. And since coming into contact with it can cause serious eye infections and even blindness – that’s something everybody should worry about.”

The survey, which quizzed councils across England, discovered that they received close-on 53,000 complaints about doggie doo last year. Some responded sharply, setting up dedicated teams to shift it (53%) and hotlines to report it (42%). Around 73% ran poster campaigns and education drives (some even gave away free poop scoops) to encourage good dog ownership.

But when Keep Britain Tidy examined the latest prosecution figures, they discovered a far more patchy picture.

Allowing your pet to poo on public land is punishable by an on-the-spot fine of £50 or a trip to the Magistrates Courts – maximum tariff £1000. Between November 2003 and March 2004, 1,376 penalties were handed to slip-shod owners (71% of which have been paid) while 96 people went before the courts.

Over a third of those fines were dished out by North West England Councils, with Yorkshire & Humber close behind on 209. Meanwhile all the East of England managed to muster was 35 (they also spent the most on cleaning up pooch poo) while the total for the London Boroughs clocked in at just 13!

The North West also led the way in putting irresponsible owners before the courts – with 47 owners facing Magistrates. The South West managed second place with 13 prosecutions, while London was last again, with just one.

With a myriad of archaic bylaws, Alan Woods called for Government to sharpen-up legislation so it covers all public land. He also asked all good owners and law abiding people in this dog-loving land, to register the kind of anger they did back in 2002 – when a groundswell of public disgust helped reduce the problem by 27%.

“A couple of years ago there really was a feeling that ‘enough was enough’ and that nobody was prepared to put up with dog poo on their streets any longer” said Alan. “Consequently, seeing owners carrying poop scoops and plastic bags to put their pet’s poo in, was commonplace.

But laziness has crept back in again and if we really want to rid our land of this problem, we must campaign relentlessly until there isn’t a single bit of fouling left on public land.”