DOG fouling complaints are on the increase, council officers have warned.
Members of Flintshire Council have complained about the problems caused when dog mess is not cleaned up by a minority of owners in the county, and the authority has now said it has started receiving more reports about the problem from members of the public.
Speaking during a council meeting, Ian Vaughan-Evans, Flintshire’s interim public protection manager, said: “We have noticed quite an increase in the number of reports we are having.
“We are not quite sure why this is.”
He said the increase may be due to the wet conditions meaning people are not taking their dogs on fields.
Instead the dog fouling is taking place on streets and the excrement is not being picked up by a minority of owners.
He said discussions had been held with a private enforcement company about ways of tackling dog fouling issues, while the authority has a database to help ensure prominent areas of dog fouling complaints are continually monitored.
Mr Vaughan-Evans said no prosecutions are currently pending relating to dog fouling.
The authority has launched a Doggy Do phone app, providing another means for complaints to be reported.
There were more than 50 reports of dog fouling via the app in quarter three of the 2012-13 financial year.
Cllr Chris Dolphin is calling on members of the public to assist in the problem by reporting anything they see to the authorities.
“It takes people to report the ones who are making the mess,” he added.
“It is not helping our communities and it is costing us an arm and a leg.”