Hoylake resident Kal Ali writes:
Is it just me or is there a couple if not more dog owners not clearing up their dog mess. I walks my 17 month old daughter every day down queens road, and surrounding roads and every morning there fresh mess which she has to dodge. I have only lived in the Wirral for two years but Hoylake is one nasty village for dog mess. And I have lived in london for 26years. Surely we as community need to take action. I urge [readers of HoylakeJunction.com] to walk down these roads and witness the mess themselves. Hope there’s someone that will take notice. The council don’t care. No proof no fines.
Additionally, there was a report on the BBC website yesterday about dog owners walking dogs on beaches around the UK coastline. Apparently, owners do clean up the dog mess but then leave the plastic waste bags on the beach rather than placing them in bins.
What do you think? Is it a problem that is getting worse? Do you think that horse muck is a problem too? Have your say in the comments. [Bad language will be moderated]
Geoff Ward says
I agree with Kal Ali the dog mess problem seems to be getting worse.I’ve seen various signs around Hoylake and many with dog mess within a few feet of them.I walk my miniature horse around the roads every day and carry bags to clear up her mess although thankfully it doesn’t happen that often.I am always on the the lookout when she’s eating grass to make sure she avoids the smelly stuff.Why can’t people clear up after their animals?
gail says
I had a friend up from Shropshire and she commented on the amount of dog poo in Hoylake. It drives me mad. I too have children who have to doge the poo to and from school every day. Queens, Valentia, Alderley and Trinity Road do seem particularly bad. I am also involved with the Friends of Grove Park and the situation there is a disgrace. There seems no effective way of tackling it as the residents say the worst offenders bring their dogs to poo in the park late at night. Rant over.
Jan Foster says
Dog mess is a huge problem. We have two dogs and like 90% of the population we always clear up and take our bags home.
I think it has got worse over the last few years as people walk along talking on their mobile phones. They don’t notice what their dog is doing behind them. I have observed this a lot lately.
Not sure what the answer is though.
Dave says
I feel for the council. They need proof to prosecute – that’s the law. To do that you need patrol officers on duty to witness it, or CCTV footage. That costs time and resources, and we all know the prejudiced stance of the Wirral Groan on the use of mobile cameras. We all have a duty to challenge those who allow their dogs to foul the pavements rather than expecting the authorities to stumble across it.
Ian says
Below is from the Wirral News 14/03/12:
The council has invested £120,000 doubling the size of its enforcement team and putting on more patrols to clamp down on dog mess. More than 80 fixed penalty notices have already been handed out for dog fouling since the enforcement team was set up five years ago.
This equates to a prosecution rate of about one a month which seems a bit light when there is at least 20 offences committed on North Parade every day!!
Bill Lucas says
I have to agree with all the above comments regarding dog mess. We have owned dogs ourselves for the last 43 years and we always clean up when out. There is nothing worse that either yourself or anyone else standing in this filth and then transferring it in to your car or home – especially if it is a child. Years ago we had an owner “doing it’s stuff” right outside our house early in the morning and my (then) children walking in it, so I did a very naughty, picked it up in newspaper and put it through the guy’s letter box! Not a clever thing to do I know, but it never happened again!! Whilst on the subject, I agree with the other comment regarding horse mess. Unfortunately there is an ancient law whereby horse owners cannot be prosecuted as they were so important to the economy in those days. Pity, because up here in Meols it is all over the place for children to walk in – and they do!
Diane Hind says
Also can someone explain to me why dog owners bag iup there dog s mess then drop the bag on the ground instead of carrying it to a bin?
The beach is also in a mess not just with dog mess and plastic bags but with broken glass, rubbish washed up from ships etc and horrible wet sand.
Dave Burton says
I left Hoylake in 1965. Even then it was well known as the dog poop capital of Wirral.
Seems like nothing has changed in 47 years!
Kal says
I guess these people are too posh to pick up their own mess. If any of the nasty owners reading this then behave and pick it up. Or like my friend at the top might have to start posting 1st class poop.
Diane Hind says
Its not just local dog owners that let animals mess, how about the ones who drive to the prom let their dogs out while they sit in the car, and how about the people who drive down with their horse boxes and decide to clean them out and brush all the mess onto the beach, no objections to them cleaning the horsebox out but they could use a shovel and bin it same as the rest of us responsible dog owners. Its not the animals fault its the selfish owners who refuse to clean up.
Laurel Bank says
I quite agree I have seen this myself many times and it beggars belief that people actually drive to the beach in Hoylake let their dogs out to foul the beach and then drive off thinking this behaviour is acceptable. The problem is that there is an element in society today that have no regard whatsoever for anyone except themselves
John says
Arthur comments:
Welcome to Hoyake Kal Ali,a magnet for selfish dog owners who do not clear up after their dogs. I have recently had a couple of unpleasant incidents,with my grandson and myself having both stepped in dog mess in Market street and walking down Manor Road…Absolutely disgusting.
The island of Gozo (Malta) is extremely clean and tidy and very pleasant to visit.A complete contrast to this country.The fines for littering or not clearing up after you dog there are 974 pounds-1948 pounds.
It certainly works as they have a beautiful,unsullied island.
Litter is also a major problem in the village,particularly as a result of the bar and fast food culture that has developed in recent years.
Arthur.
Colin Stewart says
We left Hoylake in 2000 and can’t believe what we’ve read above. After all these years Hoylake dog owners are still being as idiotically selfish and thoughtless as ever. We had a neighbour, locally known as Tank, whose dog used in front of our neighbours back gate as its toilet every morning (there was a mountain of evidence, all the same size) and we caught it at it one morning he, the owner, was riding down the road taking no notice until we shouted. His excuse was “Oh, the dog always waits until it gets to the beach” We kind of people are they????
The next time we saw his wife she gave us a terrible look. So it was all our fault, then?
Paul C says
Someone allows their dog to do its mess on the corner of Market Street near the chiropodists. It’s there every day and it’s disgusting.
It must be very early in the morning or late at night. There’s a police or council CCTV right opposite, I wish they’d point it there!
Stu Dewar says
I moved to Hoylake in 2005 and can’t get over the amount of dog muck about. It’s like Liverpool in the 70s! What are people playing at? I’m a dog owner and wouldn’t dream of leaving his crap on the pavement, the grass, the sand or anywhere else. It’s part of the deal – if you want to own a dog (and they’re great) you’re going to have to pick up dog muck. If you’re not prepared to do the latter you shouldn’t seek the former. When you challenge someone on the matter they look at you slack-jawed as though the worst thing that’s just happened is your questioning their right to do as they please.
Laurel Bank says
I quite often walk along the promenade at Hoylake between the Lifeboat Station and Kings Gap in the early morning when people are excercising their dogs on the beach and admiring the views, looking out to sea, looking over to Hilbre completely oblivious to the fact their dogs are fouling the beach behind them usually against the sea wall above the high water mark were the mess stays for days which is particularly unpleasant for anyone wishing to sit on the beach.
Some time ago there were signs indicating that dogs were not permitted on the beach betweet the Old Baths site and Kings Gap between April and September but have disappeared why is that bylaw not enforced?
tavish says
It’s not the poop that bothers me (we have a bigger problem with cat-muck in the garden) – it’s the fact that the beach is full of dogs running wild. As are the parks – even little Grove Park. There is nowhere safe in Hoylake to play with small children. We urgenly need a dog free zone on the beach and to ban any dog that is not leashed from all parks. It’s a disgrace. You don’t get this abroad – or even in Wales where many beaches are ‘no-dogs’ zones. How civilized! Whatever happened to ‘dogs must be led’? It’s every yobbo dog owner for himself these days and hang the rest.
Colin Stewart says
There used to be a good Dog Inspectors’ Department in Wirral Borough Council, a nice chap came round to our house in Sea View a few times to sort a neighbour with a problematic dog.
Have a look in the phone book or on the Wirral B.C. website and give them a call. It worked for us when we lived there.
Julian Priest says
Hmmmmm
As a responsible dog owner who always ‘picks up’ after our terrier, even when we are right far out on the sand bank, it really annoys me that other owners allow their pets to foul our environment.
Don’t give all our beloved dogs a bad name….pick up after your pet!
I’m also dismayed at the amount of discarded pizza, kebab, chinese, chips, sick etc . . . you see along Market Street on a Saturday/Sunday morning. A particular messy spot being the bus stop outside the Ship.
There is also the mess created on the pavements by smokers standing outside pubs/club . . . the pavement outside the Punch Bowl being particularly bad for discarded butts
Am I the only person who has spotted the massive amount of discarded ‘chewy’ that can be spotted on the relatively new paving along Market Street? Once it is well trodden in [as most of it is now] I guess only a council worker with a steam cleaner can remove it
Then we have the messiness we see on our local beach. The council contractors ‘surf rake’ does not operate all year round and seems to miss the stuff close to the prom wall.
How do we solve this?
It is essential to achieve a change in the behaviour of those responsible for littering
The Council has a ‘Duty’ to maintain our area to an acceptable standard of cleanliness.
But ‘Responsibility’ for the litter & mess we see on our streets & beach lies with those who drop it.
There is no getting away from that fact.
There is really ‘No Excuse’!!
So perhaps we should ALL be prepared to challenge any individual we see littering . . . .
Further than that perhaps we should also be prepared to pick up some of the mess??
I have been known to pick up dog mess other than that from my own dog, if I have a poop bag out anyway and there is another ‘mess’ near to that I’m picking up from our terrier.
I do occasionally pick inorganic stuff up off the beach [cans, bottles etc] if I see it while walking the dog and my route is talking me past a nearby bin
A littered place seems to generate more littering
As irresponsible individuals see the existence of litter as an excuse to not care about dropping some more!
Perhaps we should start a local poster/sticker campaign
Plenty of free materials to be found here….
http://www.keepbritaintidy.org/OrderMaterials/Default.aspx