Nottingham City Council and Community Protection are working to tackle dog fouling in New Basford and Forest Fields next week.

Dog fouling has been raised as an issue in the area so teams will be working together to help reduce the problem through education and enforcement.

Dedicated deep cleans and education with local residents and school children will start on Tuesday 24 and will continue on Wednesday 25 February.

Activities planned include:

• Tuesday 24 February: Joint working by Nottingham City Council’s FIDO Team and Community Protection to educate residents on their work to help reduce dog fouling and encourage residents to play their part. The consistently worst roads over the past six months will be targeted including:

o Wimbledon Road
o Perry Road
o Retford Road
o Newfield Road
o Nottingham Road
o Beech Avenue
o Leslie Road
o Laurie Avenue
o Foxhall Road

• Wednesday 25 February: The Dogs Trust will be educating school children at Djanogly Northgate Academy in New Basford during their assembly on the importance of pickling up after dogs and taking care of their pets.

Cllr Nicola Heaton, Portfolio Holder for Community Services at Nottingham City Council, said: “Dog fouling is an issue for a lot of residents in the city and we invest time and resources in trying to tackle it. We need the support of local people and we need dog owners to take responsibility and clean up after their dog. Also, people can easily report dog fouling and irresponsible dog owners who don’t bag it and bin by calling 9152000 or using our online form at www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/reportit

Fast FIDO facts:

• Nottingham City Council has three FIDO machines working across the city cleaning up dog mess, proactively and reactively, working on reports from residents and known hotspot areas.
• On a weekly basis it is estimated that 800-1000 litres of dog mess is collected across the city, with the City Council spending an estimated £234,000 per annum. With machinery and clean up costs, this equates to an estimated £5 per dog mess.
• In Nottingham City, not cleaning up after your dog carries a £50 on the spot penalty and a maximum fine of £1000 if found guilty at court. Dog fouling is reported as a priority in every single ward of Nottingham City, and last year the Council took 2934 reports of dog fouling.

• Each FIDO machines drives around 25 miles a day.

• Dog poo is dangerous; the parasites found in it can lead to toxocariasis in humans. Symptoms include eye disorders, aches, dizziness, nausea, asthma and epileptic fits and it is most commonly affects children between 18 months and five years.

• If you know some who is leaving their dog’s mess on the street you can call Nottingham City Council’s Call Centre on 0115 9152000 or the Community Protection Service Centre on 9152020. All calls are treated confidentially.