Published: Thursday, 10th January, 2008 12:30pm

Poowatch to launch

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The successful 'No Poo on My Shoe' campaign launched by local mums is set to increase its profile further after Christmas, the pressure group have revealed.

It will be the first anniversary of the project in the new year and to co-incide with this, the group are launching 'Poo Watch' to encourage local residents to shop dog owners who fail to clear up after their pet"s mess.

Mrs Louise McCarron said: 'Our first step was to put our message across. There has been a noted improvement and the use of dog dirt dispenser bags has soared in Largs. The next step is enforcement and we have been in talks with the council about this to launch the project "Poo Watch".'

A new litter officer is being appointed by the local authority which also includes the environment and eradicating dog dirt from our streets as part of the remit. Coupled with this, North Ayrshire Council will be sending a letter to every resident in Largs to remind them of the importance of picking up the excrement and disposing of it in a dispenser bin. The letter will thank the dog owners of Largs for picking up after their pets but will remind the section of the community who do not do so that the matter is a criminal offence.

The pilot scheme is going to be launched in Largs and if it proves to be successful, will extend to other areas throughout the district. In terms of enforcement, the No Poo on My Shoe group acknowledged that the Largs and Millport Weekly News have played an important part in broadcasting the campaign and also pointed out that the letters page has also been utilised in recent months to highlight problem areas in the town where dog dirt has been a problem. They have urged readers to carry on in the same vein if they see any other areas which people may be concerned about.

Speaking about the campaign as a whole during the past year, Mrs McCarron said: 'The success has been immeasurbale and there has been a massive improvement on our streets. The GPs uniting behind us and making people aware of the health issues was also an important factor and the uptake of poo bags has vastly increased. However, there is still an unacceptable level. There will always be a percentage who do not listen. There is still much room for improvement.'