COUNCIL workers, Keep Wales Tidy officers and volunteers have visited Ammanford and Llandeilo Parks to highlight the dangers of dog-fouling.

Keep Wales Tidy organised a day of action on October 2 to raise awareness and educate people on the issue and joined forces with council staff to encourage dog owners to pick up after their pets.

As part of the campaign, council enforcement officers, Tidy Towns officers, Keep Wales Tidy officers and community leaders and volunteers came together on the streets and in parks across the county to spray dog foul with bright yellow chalk paint to highlight the volume of the problem.

In addition to Ammanford and Llandeilo, the scheme also targeted Pendine, Laugharne, Whitland, Llangunnor and Llanelli.

As well as drawing attention to the issue, officers were on hand to offer expert advice and dog fouling bags to the public.

Despite an overall improvement in dog-fouling on the streets of Wales, according to the All Wales cleanliness survey (LEAMS) 2014, it still remains a serious and dangerous problem for many neighbourhoods in Wales.

Executive Board Member for Environmental and Public Protection, Councillor Jim Jones said: “Anyone that is caught failing to clean up after their dog in a public place will be fined.

“Not only is it extremely unpleasant if you step in it, but dog-mess could lead to serious health problems in some circumstances. Apart from dog-mess carrying harmful bugs which can lead to infection, asthma and even blindness, all sorts of worm and bacteria can live in soil long after the dog mess has wasted away.

“The vast majority of dog owners make the right decision by taking plenty of dog bags out on their walks, picking up after their dog and disposing of it in a bin or by taking it home and disposing of it there.”

Dan Snaith, Carmarthenshire Project Officer for Keep Wales Tidy said: “It was great to see officers and locals out in force to help with the awareness raising campaign. We hope that the bright yellow spots will alert people to the issues in certain areas, and hopefully we can re-visit the same sites next year to see if the dog fouling has reduced.”