TEACHERS at an Accrington primary school are having to search their playing fields for dog mess before allowing their youngsters to play on it.

Hugh Burkinshaw, headteacher of Peel Park Primary School, Alice Street, today slammed dog owners, saying their irresponsibility was putting the health of his pupils at risk.

Mr Burkinshaw said he had approached people who he had spotted walking their dogs on the school's field only to be hit with a barrage of abuse when he asked them to clean up after their pets.

His complaints have now been taken up by one of the area's local councillors, who said the streets around the school were just as bad.

He said: "We now have to get staff to check the playing fields and shift any mess they find before letting the children out either for lessons on the field or at breaktimes.

"That obviously is an extra burden on staff, whose time should be spent with the children.

"Outside the school we also have problems. We have written to the council asking for dog mess bins to be put up near the school, but we haven't had any joy.

"The walking bus scheme we run, which involves groups of children being escorted to school, is also being affected. Avoiding the dog mess is almost as big a problem as avoiding the traffic.

"There is a real health risk associated with this but when I've approached people, I've just been hit with a torrent of abuse."

Coun Graham Jones said: "We really need more attention from the dog warden up here.

"Around the school is disgraceful at the moment.

"On some days you will see 200 pieces of dog mess in a 100 metre stretch. That's how bad it is."

Hyndburn Council has begun a review of the locations of its dog bins, threatening to move any which aren't being used to new sites. It says it cannot afford to service any more bins at the moment.

A spokesman for the council said the school's complaints would be investigated and resources allocated to tackling the problem.