Children react against dog poo outside school

Children in Mytchett, Surrey, have spoken out against irresponsible dog owners after a spate of fouling outside their school got so bad a child’s birthday party was cancelled. The upset Year 6 pupils from Mytchett Primary School penned a letter to their local newspaper speaking of their "disgust" at what they described as an "excessive, unhygienic and horrible" situation.

On one occasion so much dog faeces was trodden into the next-door Mytchett Sure Start Centre, in Hamesmoor Road, that its "distraught" manager had to cancel a tot’s party and have the centre deep-cleaned at considerable cost. Dog fouling is illegal and people failing to clear up after their pets can be issued with a fixed penalty notice, which carries a £1,000 fine if prosecuted.



Yet despite signs warning people to use designated dog bins, the pupils said the "outrageous situation" had gone too far. Headteacher Jo Ibbotson said children frequently came into the school with dirty shoes and praised their proactivity in trying to raise awareness of the issue.

Elaine Thurlow, manager at the children’s centre, said she recently counted 25 piles of muck within 50m of the hall. She said: “What the children write is true – we did have to cancel a party a few months ago. We get a lot of pregnant women and babies in so it’s becoming a real health issue. We now ask people to take their shoes off, we just can’t take the risk – it’s toxic.”