Dog walkers without poo bags to face £100 fines

Dog walkers in an East Sussex town are to face £100 fines if they fail to carry poo bags under new council plans.

Hastings Borough Council's cabinet has voted in favour of extending the town's Dog Control Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) for three years.

As well as renewing current restrictions, such as ordering owners to clear up dog mess, the new condition will also make it an offence to be found without "suitable means to remove dog faeces".

Becca Horne, cabinet member for community safety and environmental services, said it was not about "coming down hard on people" financially, but rather a "real deterrent" to potential offenders.

"We want to give our enforcement officers an additional tool with which to engage with people and make them aware it's their responsibility to have the means to clean up after their animals," she told BBC Radio Sussex.

"And, if they don't have a bag on them, then a tissue or something similar will also be acceptable.

"I think most people will agree that's a reasonable ask."

Horne said officers, more of whom are being recruited, will also be handing out bags for the first few months should anyone have "perfectly innocently" forgotten to bring their own.

She added the idea was to build up a picture of where the hot spots were in order to deal with persistent issues, explaining that the £100 fixed penalty notice would be reduced to £50 if paid in the first 10 days.

Many pet owners in Hastings said they thought the move was a good idea.

"I think it's super important that they step things up a bit if people aren't following the current rules," said one.

Another added: "There should be an enforceable requirement to clean up after your dog - I don't care whether it's by using a tea towel or your hat."

A third person said: "We need to keep everything nice and clean because it's not great when children slip in poo that's been left lying about."

However, some did question its enforceability.

"They can't really check our pockets to see if we've got any bags on us, can they? Isn't that a breach of privacy?" asked one dog walker.

"What if you only came out with one bag and have already used it by the time an officer approaches you?" someone else added.

Another change to the PSPO will relax rules banning dogs at Hastings Castle.

Exclusions in the PSPO cover anyone with a "reasonable excuse" to not follow the order, or anyone who is registered blind, deaf or has mobility issues and requires an assistance dog.

This would include the two seasonal dog exclusion areas on the beach, as well as restrictions on when dogs can be off leads in parks and gardens.

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