I AGREE with every word of your Letter of the Week winner Mrs B Morjaria (LET, November 15). But I am also a responsible dog owner.

I take disposable nappy bags with me wherever I go with the dog, plus a large bottle of diluted disinfectant. I never leave any dog mess, even if it is on rough land or the moors.

I was complimented recently on cleaning up after my dog by a young mother who, fag in mouth, was dropping ash on her baby. Perhaps her older children are among those who leave such huge amounts of broken glass about the streets of Darwen. I have often seen boys and grown men spit in the streets. Walking my dog is a constant hazard for these reasons.

Darwen and Blackburn are dirty, unkempt and pretty disgusting - but don't blame just dog owners: the residents of these towns seem to have given up caring.

Many parents have certainly given up - or have not started - teaching their children appropriate behaviour.

Dog owners should clear up any mess their animals produce, but it is human beings who cause most of the filth in these towns.

PATRICIA TILLOTSON, Birch Hall Avenue, Darwen.

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