TAUNTON Deane’s environmental health team has stepped up patrols in Greenway Recreation Ground following a desperate plea from school children.

Pupil’s from St Andrew’s Church School wrote to the council saying there is so much dog faeces in the park their teacher has to check the ground and clear it before they can hold PE lessons, and they are worried people will become ill if they play there.

One of the letters said: “We use this park for our sports clubs, football, running etc. The park is full of dog mess and we have to be careful where we stand – it’s like a bomb field.

“Please help us with our situation. Would you like your child to have to play in an area full of dog mess?”

The year six pupils were so fed up with people allowing their dogs to foul the park that they demanded action saying: “It is irresponsible and needs to be stopped, so, please, please help us keep our park clean and safe.”

The council responded immediately by sending officers out to patrol the park, speaking to dog owners and providing dog poo bags to those that did not have them.

Environmental health manager, Erica Lake, said: “These increased patrols will continue at Greenway Recreation Ground where there is clearly a need to educate dog owners.

“Unfortunately it is a common problem, not just in Taunton Deane but all over the country.

“These letters from the children said it all – ‘they have chosen to be dog owners and therefore have a responsibility to clear up after their dog’.”