BLACKPOOL Borough Council is determined to stamp out dog fouling in the resort.

From April 1 2001 to 2002 the council's Dog Welfare Service issued 62 fixed penalty notices and eight of those people were prosecuted for failure to pay.

Kevin Garritty, head of environmental services said: "Dog fouling is a serious environmental hazard and in an effort to make owners more responsible, the fixed penalty notice was doubled from £25 to £50 on April 2 this year.

"To date eight penalty notices have been issued at that increased amount."

One such owner is Pamela Hirst, of Adrian Street, South Shore, who was fined £50 and ordered to pay costs of £50 for allowing her dog to foul on the beach at Central Promenade and not cleaning up afterwards.

"Our beaches are constantly scrutinised by tourism and environmental bodies and it's tragic that local people allow their dogs to foul one of our tourism assets," added Kevin.

"The council provides designated bins and all we ask is that owners act responsibly by picking up their dog's dirt in a bag, put it in a bin or take it home and dispose of it."