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A little girl was so angry about walking through dog mess that she complained to the council about it.
Ami-Paige Stanley, six, was infuriated after regularly walking around Mill Pond in Emsworth and having to watch her every step because of dog fouling.
But one day she decided 'enough is enough' and drew up a poster with a no-nonsense message to offenders.
She sent the poster to Havant Borough Council with a letter demanding more to be done at her favourite walk.
Her plea comes as the council revealed it hasn't given out a single fine to irresponsible dog owners since new tough laws for dog fouling were introduced more than five years ago.
Under current laws, on-the-spot 75 fines can be given to any owner who doesn't clean up after their dog has fouled.
Portsmouth, Fareham and Gosport councils have between them given out hundreds of fines since the legislation was introduced.
But Havant council said it was opting for an educational approach.
Ami-Paige's mum Amanda Stanley, 40, of Victoria Road, Emsworth, said she was shocked at how much dog mess was at beauty spots like Mill Pond.
She said: 'They are doing their business and the owners just don't seem to care. It's disgusting.
'There's never anyone round there patrolling.
'What's the point of paying your council tax?'
But she added the onus should still be on the dog owner to behave responsibly.
Havant Borough Council said it wasn't necessary to issue fines as most offenders when caught out would clean up the mess and mend their ways.
Stephen Dear, environmental health manager at the council, said the amount of dog fouling was at a minimum following a range of preventative measures by the council such as education schemes, neutering schemes and 'Clean up after your dog' campaigns.
He added: 'Dog fouling will always be a problem. The aim is to keep it to a minimum which is achieved by high-profile patrols and regular street cleaning coupled with education.
'If anyone has information which identifies an owner of a dog who is failing to clean up after it, we will happily take up the case.'
The cost to British taxpayers of clearing up after dogs is around 2.3 million every year.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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