SIR - I am sure that, like me, you are fed up with hearing about it and reading about it, yet, still our beautiful town by the sea is soiled with dog faeces.

I use The Byes with my two young children daily and not a day goes by when I don’t pass at least five piles of poo.

We have beautiful, big, green pastures to run around in, particularly towards the Sidford end of The Byes, and yet I would not let my children run freely on the grass in fear of them stepping in dog poo.

Instead, the dogs get it all to themselves. Whilst I appreciate a lot of dog owners are responsible, others are obviously lazy and downright ignorant. A friend in Sidmouth came across such a person recently who was about to leave a pile of poo, when she offered them a bag as they didn’t have any when she confronted them. This person then went on to say they could not bend down very easily – for all these elderly, inflexible or just lazy people, may I suggest you buy a grabber if you can’t bend down, or, failing that, just don’t have a dog.

I used to quite like dogs, now I just resent them, which, of course, I shouldn’t. After all, it’s not their fault. The other problem I see regularly is a dog with its owner nowhere in sight. This is mainly due to the fact that the owner is walking half a mile in front of the dog – how can you possibly expect to see your dog fouling if you are nowhere near it, or, perhaps this is exactly your plan. These dog owners also seem to think that, if their dog fouls on the banks or edges of the path, this is OK to leave! IT IS NOT. Children run everywhere.

Perhaps the council should provide bag dispensing areas around The Byes or install cameras to catch these people.

A warden doing random checks would be a good idea and, perhaps, stopping dog owners to check they have bags on them.

I hope this letter has pricked you conscience and that you think of the damage this could do to a child if they get this in their eyes.

All of you will have children, grandchildren, nieces or nephews; so, please clean up after your dog.

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