Portsmouth resident left angry as dog mess bins '˜are overflowing'

Dog-walkers in Gatcombe Gardens had no alternative but to leave bags of dog mess on the ground with some even putting the waste in litter bins.

The council’s contractor Colas confirmed it had been emptying the bins three times a week as usual.

A spokesperson from Colas said: ‘We have had issues with people fly-tipping or using the bins for non-dog waste rubbish before such as the leftovers from picnics. We believe something like this might have happened.

‘But we will be investigating this further.’

However, a concerned resident who lives 50 metres from the park, said this was not the first time it had happened. He said: ‘This isn’t a one-off, they are overflowing regularly.

‘They just didn’t empty the dog waste bins for ages, they were overflowing. People were using the litter bins, and there were bags around the front of the bin. It was disgusting. They were overflowing for days but it could have been longer.  It was really stinky.’

‘It might have been cleared now but how frequently do they think is enough?’

Newly-appointed council member for the environment, Cllr Dave Ashmore, was concerned about the build-up of dog waste. He said: ‘It is unhygienic and unpleasant. Thank you to Colas for cleaning it up.

‘This is something I will look into in my new role to ensure it doesn’t happen again. I will have to see if the bins overflowing is a recurring problem.’

Cllr Frank Jonas, one of the councillors for Hilsea, said: ‘The council were on the case as soon as I was notified about the problem.

‘I am keen to see the park kept clean.  The park is so popular with dog-walkers.’

Colas has a three-man team which empties, cleans and disinfects more than 1,000 dog waste bins in Portsmouth three times a week and every week collects more than six tonnes of dog waste from the city.