Oldham park being ruined by dog poo says angry resident

Trish, who asked only to be identified by her first name, regularly walks her dogs in Princess Park, South Chadderton.

The 60-year-old said that there were more piles of dog poo in the park ‘every day’ she visits – having counted eight piles in her 10-minute walk around the perimeter of the park earlier this week.

Upon a recent visit, Trish said she was "taken aback" by the sight of the "biggest pile of dog poo I have ever seen" in the middle of the basketball court, meaning three young boys had to play football around it.

After offering to clean it up, another man intervened and used some of Trish’s bags to pick up the poo.

Trish said: “Every day when you go in, there’s just more piles of dog poo around, and it’s supposed to be a children’s play area.

"The majority of people are responsible and clean up after dogs, and there are obviously some who don’t. It’s not fair on the kids.”

Dog poo is even on the pavement towards the park (Image: Trish)

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Having lived in the area since 1996, Trish said the problem has been getting worse in the last couple of years.

She continued: “It’s a regular occurrence in the last couple of years. There’s no signs up in the park saying dogs should be on a lead, so some people let their dogs off and they wander around the park unsupervised.

“It might be sometimes that owners don’t realise their dog’s done it, but I suspect in these cases, it’s on the particular walks in the park, it’s somebody who is walking a dog around who just doesn’t bother cleaning up.”

Trish added that she thought leaving dog poo around was ‘disgraceful’.

She said: “Because I walk around in those areas and you’ve got leaves dropping, and the light, you can’t always see it.

"The amount of times I’ve actually walked in it, thankfully I always take my shoes off before coming in the house and leave them in the porch, but how many kids do that when they’ve been running in the park?”

Dog poo in the park (Image: Trish)

Council responds

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Cllr Chris Goodwin, Cabinet member for neighbourhoods said: “We take all environmental crime seriously including dog fouling, which is unsightly and a health hazard.

“Everyone knows you should clean up after your dog. Whilst we are happy to provide signage, extra signage will not necessarily make an irresponsible owner pick up dog poo as they obviously don’t give a toss.

“It is the responsibility of every dog owner to clear up after their own pet. If they did that there wouldn't be an issue.

“People have to ask themselves, if they are not prepared to clean up after their own pet then should they really have a dog?

“Our enforcement officers work really hard with the resources available to them and will take action if we are provided with evidence.”