Call for dog mess clear-up

DOG owner Les Shaw is fed up of seeing overflowing bins when he walks his Welsh Terrier.

The 60-year-old has demanded that something is done to make sure the path that many dog owners take their dogs on the Ipswich Rugby Club's field is kept free of plastic bags left at the foot of the dog bin.

Occasionally, especially during school holidays, the two Suffolk Coastal council-maintained bins on the field are left so that dog owners leave bags around the bin or resort to leaving the dog dirt on the ground.

Mr Shaw said that the two bins are normally emptied once a week at the rugby club's field near Humber Doucy Lane, Ipswich but on a number of occasions bins have been left to over-flow for up to three weeks.

Mr Shaw, of Sidegate Lane West, Ipswich, said that there should be two more bins put in to the field and that they should be emptied more regularly.

"It would appear that there is just one person responsible – if a holiday comes up no one gets the job," said Mr Shaw.

"As it is an active rugby club, the last thing we want is people letting dogs run over the pitches doing what they do naturally."

Mr Shaw said the problem of over-flowing dog bins had been there for years and that at first it was caused by Ipswich Borough council and Suffolk Coastal council being uncertain as to who should be responsible for the boundary area in Humber Doucy Lane, Ipswich.

A spokesman for Suffolk Coastal said that the dog bins in the field are supposed to be emptied twice a week and that if someone notices that the bins are over-flowing they can contact Steve Green at Suffolk Coastal's direct services division on 01394 444004.

However the spokesman added that since 1999 the provision of new dog bins is the responsibility of the area's parish council. He said that because the current bins were put in before 1999 Suffolk Coastal are still responsible for emptying them.