A Calderdale resident has been ordered by the court to pay £250 for failing to pick up after his dog in a Calderdale cricket field.
Calderdale Council recently prosecuted Mr Colin Marchington of Sowerby Bridge for failing to clean up after his Newfoundland dog on Sowerby Bridge Cricket Club’s field in December last year.
Mr Marchington failed to pay the £80 Fixed Penalty Notice he was served with at the time of the offence, and then at the subsequent trial in Halifax Magistrates Court he chose to plead “not guilty.” His defence was that he didn’t have to clean up after his dog straightaway, but that he could clean up after his dog on the walk back to his car, several minutes later. The magistrates disagreed, and advised him that the law requires him to clean up after his dog immediately.
Calderdale Council has five dog control orders in the borough to promote responsible dog ownership and to highlight the issues of dog fouling, dog control and care for our environment. One of the orders is that dog walkers must clean up straight away after their dogs everywhere except in moorland and woodland. Mr Marchington was in clear breach of this.
He was fined £60, made to pay a victim surcharge of £20, and was required to contribute £170 to the Council’s costs.
Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Development, Cllr Barry Collins, said:
“Dog fouling is a community menace – and dog control orders were introduced to help address it. Where appropriate, officers will not hesitate to issue fixed penalty notices and prosecute those who refuse to pay.”
For more information about dog control orders, or to report irresponsible dog ownership, go to www.calderdale.gov.uk and search ‘Dog control’.
If you see someone regularly failing to pick up after their dog, please report it to the Council on 01422 288001. It would help the Council’s enforcement officers if you could give a description of the dog and the person in charge of it, and an approximate time that you regularly see them.