BURNLEY - renowned for its ferocious seven-year dog "war" in the Seventies in which people went to jail over the council's ban on dogs in some parks - is to put the bite on mucky pups once again.

This time, hostilities are unlikely to recommence even though it is all parks and open spaces that councillors want to keep free from dog dirt.

But the difference is that, rather than banning dogs, it is their droppings which they seek to exclude.

For the council is reaching for a new law which will make an offence for dog owners not to clean up after their pet fouls a park or open space.

And the public is being asked to make it work - by identifying and testifying against offenders.

But if this step is to work, the council should first actively employ the law themselves before calling on the public to play "poop snoops" on their behalf.

If the council brought prosecutions against a clutch of offenders at the outset, then dog-owners generally would be made aware of the law and their responsibilities.

For who can remember the last time anyone in East Lancashire was taken to court for allowing their dog to foul the place?

This law is necessary, but an unused law is a useless law.

Previous news story

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.