A STUDENT has had to pay £350 for letting her dog foul the pavement.

Miss Victoria Baker (21), of Fern Street, Ramsbottom, is the first person in the town and the second in the borough to be prosecuted since the by-law was introduced by Bury Council in 1990.

Now she claims she has had no choice but to give up her dog because of the "excessive and unjustifiable" fine imposed on her.

Victoria was found guilty of letting her doberman Zack foul the pathways on two occasions and was fined £50 for each of the offences and ordered to pay court costs totalling £250.

"I am absolutely heartbroken and devastated at having to give Zack up but there is no way I could afford to keep him," said Victoria, who acts as a carer for her mother, Mrs Carol Lyon.

She had owned Zack for twelve months.

Mrs Lyon is furious with the ruling. She said: ""I agree something should be done about dog fouling but the fine should be in relation to the offence. I want to know how they choose who to prosecute. As far as I am aware there have been very few and yet every dog fouls the pavement at one time or another."

Mrs Lyon added she thought her daughter was an easy target and was made an example of after officials were tipped off about the fouling incident .

However, the council maintain prosecutions are the most effective way of encouraging responsible dog ownership.

The chairman of Bury's housing and environmental services: "This council will not hesitate to take prosecutions to deter the anti-social behaviour of dog-fouling."

He added there was a difficulty in bringing cases to court if complaints were not willing to give evidence in court.

"The authority it seems only prosecute responsible dog owners who take their animal out on a lead. It's an easy prosecution for them as there is no problem in identifying the owner."

She added: "People are better off just letting their dogs roam the streets at least you won't get fined."

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