Allerdale Council leaders have resolved to continue enforcing its “zero tolerance attitude” towards dog fouling across the borough.

The council’s executive agreed on Wednesday to carry on cracking down on dog fouling by extending its Public Spaces Protection Order.

This order gives council officers the power to issue fixed penalty notices to those not picking up after their dog.

This decision comes as new figures presented to the council executive show that there have been nearly 3,500 reported instances of dog fouling across Allerdale since 2016, with more than 1,400 in Workington alone.

Councillor Tony Markley, executive member for environmental services, explained that the Public Spaces Protection Order “is an important order for keeping public areas clean”.

Allerdale council leaders considered evidence that had been gathered before approving the continuation of the order. This included feedback from a consultation carried out with residents.

Deputy leader Mike Johnson said that the consultation reflected the fact that in his experience as a councillor, “very little else angers residents more than dog fouling”.

“More than 95 per cent of those who responded said it has a detrimental effect on their community, and 91 per cent said it had a direct impact on their day-to-day life,” he said.

“This is unacceptable and we as a council have a zero tolerance attitude to it.”

Additional evidence considered by the council came in the form of figures summarising the number of reported dog fouling incidents across Allerdale from August 2016 until June 2020.

A total of 3,484 incidents were reported, including 1,440 in Workington, 607 in Maryport and 309 in Cockermouth.

Mr Johnson added that some of the comments received as part of the consultation stated that more bins were needed in the borough.

“This is something we shall look at, and look to act upon,” Mr Johnson said. “We can also continue to improve our education efforts, to try to get people to understand why they need to clean up after their dog.”

Below is a full breakdown of the reported dog fouling incidents across Allerdale from August 2, 2016 to June 24, 2020:

Abbeytown - 12

Aspatria - 56

Broughton -131

Clifton - 35

Cockermouth - 309

Dearham - 148

Flimby - 83

Ireby - 17

Keswick - 169

Maryport - 607

Silloth - 47

Thursby - 5

Workington - 1440

Wigton - 411

Not Known - 14

Total - 3484