New dog fouling survey reveals worst-affected Burnham and Highbridge troublespots

A new campaign to highlight dog fouling problems in Burnham-On-Sea and Highbridge has published the results of a five-day survey.

The campaign by the Town Council saw town rangers and volunteers count and list any bagged and un-bagged dog waste left on the streets to coinide with the Great British Spring Clean.

Those involved spent the week marking any dog poo with chalk paint to highlight the worst-affected areas, before placing ‘Don’t poop and run stencils’ within these areas.

The council plans to introduce new ‘We’re watching you!’ posters soon in the worst-affected areas to encourage dog owners to clean up.

In Burnham, The Esplanade was found to be the worst blighted area with 92 un-bagged dog poos counted over five days, and a further four which had been bagged but not disposed of.

In Highbridge, Tyler Way was the worst affected area with 19 un-bagged poos spotted over five days, with Jubilee Street (16), Ashley Avenue (15), and the Westfield Cemetery alley (14) close behind. Market Street also saw 10 incidents and Newton Road had nine (with eight un-bagged, and one bagged).

A Town Council spokesperson says: “The results of the surveys have shown that there are repeat offenders. The feedback received was that incidents of dog fouling tended to be worse at night time or in areas that are not overlooked, such as alleyways.”

“There was a feeling that this could be because some dog owners act irresponsibly when they think they aren’t being watched.”

“There will be a number of posters displaying a watching eye image at the dog fouling hotspots to try and combat the issue. The posters have a luminescent film that glows in the dark. Many people are unaware that you do not need to use a dog poo bin to dispose of your dog poo bags, it is fine to use any of the normal black litter bins within the towns.”

The council adds that its campaign will run quarterly.

Full results of the dog fouling survey: