LETTERS are being sent to dog walking companies in Worcester following compaints some aren’t cleaning up after the animals in their care.

Worcester City Council has been made aware of a problem area at Acon- bury Orchard in Warn- don and has since writ- ten to at least six of the firms who walk dogs on behalf of their owners.

The issue has been championed by Dan Robb who lives off Aconbury Close, which is close to the area in question.

“They come up here and there can be about six dogs per walker,” he said.

“You can’t tell me that someone with six dogs can handle them all.

“I have never seen them pick up the mess or bring it back with them.”

He said a bollard recently installed on a bridleway near his home had helped the problem.

“I haven’t seen them for a bit but that means they have probably gone somewhere else.”

The letters have been sent out this week by Warwick Neale, the city council’s community en-gagement team manager.

They read: ‘I am writing to you and other advertised dog walking companies because Worcester City Council has been made aware, following complaints, that dog fouling has become a problem on public open spaces and residents have seen commercial operators walking dogs and not cleaning up after them’.

Mr Neale goes on to say that not cleaning up after dogs in public, no matter who the animal belongs to, can result in a fine of up to £1,000.

“Apart from being very unpleasant, dog mess can cause serious health problems –- particularly to younger children,’ he continues.

“Our civil enforcement officers will be patrolling our public open spaces on a regular basis and we will prosecute owners who do not clean up after their dogs where we obtain sufficient evidence to do so’.

More than 100 pupils at nearby Warndon Primary School this month de-signed posters pleading with dog owners to clean up after their pets.

This followed concerns raised by pupils and parents about the amount of dog mess in the streets surrounding the school.