Dog fouling is decreasing in Burnham-On-Sea and Highbridge following a five week crackdown, a group of campaigners has said this week.
Litter Free Coast and Sea Somerset (LFCSS) says the team of volunteers running its dog fouling campaign, which launched in December, has seen a “general decrease” in the number of fouling incidents amid its work to raise awareness about the anti-social problem.
Monitoring work to understand local issues of fouling has been undertaken by local volunteers and the Town Council in and around Burnham-On-Sea and Highbridge.
More than 15 sites were monitored locally over a five-week period, where volunteers counted the number of fouling incidents (bagged and unbagged) at every site each week.
They then sprayed with a bright chalk-based spray on top of the poo to highlight the mess, or sprayed a stencil alongside it to remind dog owners to pick up after their dog.
The team and Town Council then coordinated with Sedgemoor District Council to clear the areas each week.
Emily Wordley from LFCSS told Burnham-On-Sea.com she’s “pleased” to have seen “a general decrease in the number of dog fouling incidents across survey sites in response to volunteer spraying and stencilling work.”
“We feel that residents have really engaged with the campaign, recognising the importance of our survey work in tackling this antisocial issue.”
“We received positive feedback online and our local volunteers reported numerous supportive comments from residents when onsite and undertaking the survey work.”
Local volunteer David adds: “I am very happy to point out and mark the incidents of Dog Fouling in the town until it presses home how anti-social and what a serious health risk dog fouling is.”
“Unfortunately, it is a small minority that gives the dog owners a bad name. I have received support from the latter when carrying out the survey and spraying.”
“Litter Free Coast and Sea Somerset and its volunteers are beginning to ram home this message with the work done so far to tackle this, but it will take time.”
Lorna Williams, deputy town clerk at Burnham and Highbridge Town Council, says: “It has been great to work alongside the volunteers who have done a wonderful job in highlighting this antisocial behaviour in some dog owners.”
“The Town Council recognises that dog fouling is a continual problem and will certainly pursue tackling this issue on a regular basis to try and reduce the number of incidents.”
Litter Free Coast and Sea Somerset recognise the importance of a collaborative approach in tackling issues such as dog fouling and work closely with local communities.
They are encouraging interested local individuals across Somerset to get involved and join their new Facebook Group, Somerset Poo Fighters. The purpose of the group is to: Provide a platform to connect local likeminded individuals, working together to tackle the antisocial issue of dog fouling.
It also aims to keep local individuals updated with dates for Litter Free Coast and Sea Somerset’s proposed stencilling and spraying survey work in their local area and opportunities to get involved; Provide local residents with an opportunity to highlight key local dog fouling hotspots; Organise community dog walks, talks or events to raise awareness of the issue and promote positive behaviour change; Share survey results, information and photographs with other local volunteers about the great work being undertaking.
Litter Free Coast and Sea Somerset is the flagship project of the Severn Estuary Partnership which is hosted by Cardiff University. The project was set up in 2016, with support from Wessex Water, the Environment Agency, Sedgemoor District Council and Cardiff University. The community-led campaign is designed to protect bathing water quality and reduce levels of beach and marine litter along the coast.
