Pensioner unimpressed with dog turds on council calendar

A pensioner is unhappy after finding pictures of dog turds on a council calendar. While Easter bunnies and pink hearts illustrate earlier months in the two-year calendar given away by Richmondshire District Council in North Yorkshire, householders who turn to May will find a pile of dog excrement.



More mess can be found in later months, with a giant turd featuring in June 2015 and a smaller pile appearing in November next year. The images were highlighted by 78-year-old Richmond resident Anne Simpson. She said: “This year all households in Richmondshire received a calendar informing them of the dates for kerbside collection of the various bags and bins, plus tips for recycling in general.

“A colourful picture illustrates each month - January is a Christmas tree, February there are pink hearts, March an old sofa, April has cute bunnies and Easter eggs. So far so good, so I thought I would have a peek at May's offering - I was greeted by a large dog turd.” Colin Dales, the council's corporate director responsible for recycling, said it was not the authority's intention to cause offence and he apologised if this had happened.



He added: “The key aim of the calendar was to advise our residents on collection dates in a helpful and cost effective way whilst getting out some key street scene and recycling messages. Like many other areas, we do have a number of anti-social residents who allow their dogs to foul in public areas and we needed to send a clear message that this behaviour is unacceptable.”