With the arrival of foot and mouth in the counties of Worcestershire and Herefordshire and the subsequent closure of the Malvern hills and surrounding countryside, I have noticed a large increase in the number of dogs now being exercised on Link Common and other recreational land.

While driving by Link Common, I have noticed on several occasions quite a lot of owners allowing their animals to foul the common and making no attempt to clean it up and put it in the rubbish bins provided by the Conservators.

As people can appreciate, children like to play games on these open spaces and, apart from the chance of stepping in dog dirt, which I find quite disgusting, I'm sure your readers must be aware that dog dirt can spread diseases and cause blindness in children. I do hope dog owners will read this and clean up after their dogs.

Ross Sutherland, Davenham Close, Malvern. (via e-mail).