EVERY year 31 tons of dog mess is collected in Pendle, and a high proportion of it comes from West Craven.

That startling fact was delivered to West Craven councillors in a special update on the ongoing battle to clean up the area's streets and encourage dog owners to be more responsible.

Operational services manager Ian McInery told members the overall picture was encouraging.

"We've got 384 dog bins in Pendle and we collect 31 tons of dog waste annually, so we are being proactive in this, and much more so than many other local authorities," he said.

The report informed members that West Craven had 105 dog bins - there are 63 in Barnoldswick, 36 in Earby, three in Salterforth and three in Kelbrook. And they seem to be the best used bins in Pendle too.

Of the 25,000 poop scoops distributed in the borough each year, 15,600 were given out to dog owners in West Craven.

However, Mr McInery admitted there was still work to do and a number of initiatives were planned, including a new hard-hitting poster campaign. The posters, which feature graphic pictures of dog mess, tell dog owners to "Bag it, tie it, bin it", and warn of the potential health hazards dog mess can pose.

One statistic in the report that alarmed members was that since the introduction of the Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996, just seven cases had been brought before the magistrates. Of those, five were successfully prosecuted and two acquitted.

The report added that there was the possibility of council staff issuing fixed penalty notices to people allowing their pets to foul the highway, or dropping litter.

The £50 "on-the-spot" fines currently go to central Government, but Mr McInery explained that was about to change, so that the fines would go directly to the authorities issuing them. That could enable new measures, such as employing town wardens with the authority to issue fixed penalty notices to people dropping litter or allowing their pets to foul areas covered by the Dogs Act.

Earby Ward councillor Rosemary Carroll said she was concerned that so few people had been prosecuted for flouting the law.

"All you can do is catch them in the act and start fining them there and then," she said, adding a plea for another dog mess bin on Boot Street, Earby, near its junction with New Road.

Barnoldswick councillor David Whipp was also disappointed at the apparent lack of enforcement of the Dogs Act across Pendle.

He pointed out that the reason why Barnoldswick had so many dog mess bins was that many of them were bought by the town council.

"Barnoldswick led the way in anti-dog fouling. The town council bought some of the first dog mess bins in Pendle," he said. "But for there to be less than one prosecution per year since this legislation came in is pathetic."

He proposed setting up a working group of West Craven councillors and council officers to continue the war on dog mess.

"We've pioneered this over the past 10 years and more and we want to take it forward," he said.

The new group would also look at concern on litter and the feasibility of introducing fixed penalty notices for offenders.