A BBC Television personality was 'absolutely thrilled' to visit Ottery on Saturday (October 25) and hopes the message of the clean-up bid which brought her to the town will spread around the country.

A BBC Television personality was "absolutely thrilled" to visit Ottery on Saturday (October 25) and hopes the message of the clean-up bid which brought her to the town will spread around the country.

Debbie Connolly, a trainer on BBC 3's Dog Borstal and founder of the Safe Pets charity, joined Ottery Dogs members as they embarked on a "poop scoop" around the town.

Mrs Connolly invented her Safe Pets project to promote responsible pet ownership and is delighted to see Ottery dog owners making efforts to do the same.

She said: "I am absolutely thrilled that a community of responsible dog owners are standing up for themselves. There are good and bad dog owners and hopefully we can draw attention to that. I hope it spreads around the country. Nationally we need to distinguish between good and bad owners and the decisions they make. Responsible pet-owners should not be punished for a wider problem."

"I've never been to Ottery before but know the area very well, it's a beautiful part of the world. I'm really looking forward to meeting and speaking to people. Its lovely to see people taking their responsibilities as dog owners so seriously and that they recognise a general problem."

Read more in Friday's Herald.