DOG wardens are patrolling cemeteries after reports that pet owners are allowing their animals to foul on graves so they don't have to pick up the mess.

Blackburn with Darwen Council bosses believe some people are taking their pets through graveyards at night to avoid cleaning up after them.

The council confirmed it had received complaints from distraught relatives who had turned up at cemeteries to find dog mess close to their loved ones' graves.

The authority has had campaigns clamping down on people who let their animals defecate on streets and parks but fail to clear it up.

In five years, 99 people have been prosecuted for dog fouling offences.

Details of the council's new initative emerged when Coun Mohammed Khan, executive member for housing and neighbourhood services, was responding to opposition questions about cracking down on dog poo.

He said: "One problem is in our cemeteries, where people seem to think they won't be caught if they go walking there late on.

"We are patrolling the cemeteries with our dog wardens but would call on people to do their bit as well.

"If they see someone allowing it to happen, we would ask them to remember as much as possible about it and call us."

He also revealed that, in some cases, wardens are going undercover in communities in a bid to find repeat offenders.

He said: "They will spend up to five days in an area, get to know people and find out the offenders. It is a system which is working."

Coun Roy Davies, the Lib Dem councillor who posted the question, said: "Dog fouling is at epidemic proportions around the borough and something needs to be done about it.

"More officers should be given the power to issue fixed penalty notices for dog fouling "Two wardens in the borough isn't enough.

"I reckon half the people in the borough have a dog. That's how big the problem has become."