ACTION will soon be taken to clamp down on ‘irresponsible’ dog owners who are ‘ruining’ junior sport.

The Warrington Guardian has featured a number of stories detailing the plight of dog fouling on Dallam Playing fields over recent years.

Bob Bailey, an assistant coach at Bank Quay Bulls rugby club, previously branded the Longshaw Street site a ‘minefield of poo’, with the situation ‘getting beyond a complete joke’.

Cheshire Police said earlier this month that it is working alongside Warrington Borough Council to deal with the issue of dog fouling on sports pitches across the town.

Speaking again to the Warrington Guardian recently, Bob said: “I have been trying my hardest, alongside our chairwoman, to get this to stop.

“We have met with our MP and Warrington Borough Council, but nothing at all has happened.

“All we want is a great Dallam playing fields facility for all the community, a clubhouse for the club, pitches fenced off and a ban on dogs on the field.

“Irresponsible dog owners ruin it. Most people know how many kids use that field every week.”

Commenting on the issue, Warrington South MP Andy Carter said: “I am well aware of the problems of dog fouling on Dallam playing fields and others.

“My son plays junior football each Sunday at different pitches across Warrington, and there is nothing worse than seeing children getting their boots covered in dog poo, and worse, onto their hands and faces.

“The issue has been raised with me by residents and sports teams who use pitches.

“I have been working with the council’s environment team to develop additional signage for the pitches to remind people who walk their dogs on the fields of their responsibilities.

“It is not fair that sports teams should have to bear the burden for irresponsible dog owners, who are the ones ultimately responsible for making sure they clean up after their animals.”

Issuing a statement, a council spokesman said: “Dog fouling has a detrimental impact on our community, and new measures are being brought in to encourage people to clean up after their dogs.

“The new Dog Control Public Space Protection Order comes into force soon.

“This provides us with the powers to take action against irresponsible dog owners who fail to clean up after their dog.

“Signage will begin to go on display across the borough in the coming weeks.”

Coming before the council’s cabinet in December last year, the order sees fines issued for breaches ‘at the maximum level of £100 with no discount’.

It makes it a borough-wide offence to fail to remove dog faeces or fail to keep a dog on a lead, ‘without reasonable excuse’.