A MUM is literally highlighting issues with dog fouling on a Bicester estate.

Alyson Clifton is fed up with having to dodge dog mess on footpaths between Bure Park School and her home in Germander Way so she has started using bright-coloured chalk to circle it to warn others.

She has also left messages urging dog owners to: ‘Clean up your dog poo’.

Mother-of-three Ms Clifton said that as she walked her children – Gerogee, 12, and twins Lillee, and Jaymee, both nine – to school on a recent morning, they had to side-step 17 pieces of poo that had been left on the footpath.

She said: “It’s just disgusting. When I take the kids to school you have got to walk along and look at the ground to make sure you are not going to step in it.

“It’s not fair on the kids because they like to ride their scooters.

“The other morning I counted 17 lots of poo. If you have got a dog, you should pick up the poo. You can get the bags free.”

Bins for dog waste are also dotted around the estate.

Bicester councillor Les Sibley said the problem was widespread and called on dog wardens to make extra patrols.

He said: “Dog poo has become a big problem, yet we have more bins than we’ve ever had before. On some occasions dog walkers have picked it up and put it in a bag and then flung it into the hedges next to homes.

“It’s pretty soul-destroying for residents who make their property nice and tidy for that to happen.

“The vast majority of dog walkers do clean up after their pets, but there are a small few who don’t. There are ample bins, so there’s no excuse.”

So far this financial year, 2013/14, Cherwell District Council has only issued two £50 fixed penalty notices for dog fouling. Since 2009, 22 fines have been issued and in the same period two people have been taken to court.

Each year it costs the council £4,500 to supply dog bags for free.

Council spokesman Tony Eccelstone said: “Allowing a dog to foul a public area is an offence.

“Owners must pick up any mess made by their dogs, and councils provide bins in public areas for dog owners to use. It is clearly the owners’ negligence that causes this problem.

“Cherwell District Council monitors dog fouling, issues fixed penalty notices and initiates court proceedings against offenders where there is sufficient evidence.”

  • People can report dog fouling on the council’s website, cherwell.gov.uk