Spray it pink? Not in our town

The district council introduced a ‘Spray it Pink’ scheme in Horncastle two months ago following complaints from residents and local councillors about the amount of dog mess on pavements and public places.

It involved colouring piles of poo with a pink spray can.

The initiative was backed by increased patrols by the council’s dog warden and PCSOs in recognised trouble spots.

ELDC’s head of communications James Gilbert revealed initial results of the campaign at a meeting of the town council last week.

He said all feedback suggested it had reduced the amount of dog fouling.

Mr Gilbert told councillors that ELDC had received requests from other authorities which were interested in the scheme.

He asked town councillors whether they would endorse the scheme and received no positive responses.

Mr Gilbert had earlier told councillors that ELDC was pleased with the results.

He said: “All the suggestions are there is less dog mess around so I think it was quite successful.”

He admitted that ELDC had not received any reports from members of the public who had actually seen owners allowing their dogs to foul in public places.

However, Mr Gilbert said he believed the campaign had perhaps made owners think again about the issue.

He was backed by town-based PSCO Nigel Wass, who said there did appear to be less incidents of dog fouling.

Town councillor Phil Cantwell said he was opposed to the scheme from the start.

He said ELDC would be far better off identifying offenders and taking them to court.

Coun Cantwell, who owns a restaurant in West Street, also disputed whether there were less instances of dog fouling.

He claimed financial cutbacks meant ELDC only had one dog warden to cover the entire district and that actual prosecutions for dog fouling were few and far between.

Coun Maurice Lamb suggested the dog warden should not wear uniform and travel around in an unmarked van to improve the chances of catching offenders.

A Queen Street resident told the meeting dog fouling was still a major problem in their neighbourhood, while Coun David Roark highlighted West Street and Bridge Street.

Mr Gilbert said increased patrols would continue and asked councillors to consider putting forward any other ways of tackling dog mess.

Previously:

Residents backing for action over dog mess

Residents say they are seeing red over pink

Video: Dog poo in the pink in Horncastle