THE problem of dog mess left on the parks and pavements in Ilkley could be solved by the introduction of new street wardens as part of a special Government plan.

This week Prime Minister Tony Blair announced a new £50 million plan to crack down on neighbourhood nuisance, including litter and dog mess.

But an Ilkley Councillor, still waiting for his portion of the £150 million promised by the Government for an environment-friendly recycling programme, was not convinced that hard cash would quickly follow the public relations exercise.

Councillor Martin Smith said he would love to see the Government providing the funding for street wardens to report dog owners spotted allowing their dogs to foul the streets and parks.

But Coun Smith, who is in charge of Bradford's waste disposal said the authority had been left high and dry by central Government over EU recycling directives.

"We had £150 million promised for recycling last November and we still haven't got the details on how we are supposed to claim the money - which means we have lost five months," said Coun Smith.

He added: "If this is another such scheme then I am not interested."

Coun Smith said that Bradford Council had to implement a five-year rubbish recycling plan introduced by the EU which was intended to reduce the amount of waste tipped into landfill rubbish sites.

But the lack of Government money meant that the authority had been left to implement the plan out of its existing budget, despite the promise of extra Government funding.

Announcing the neighbourhood warden scheme which has been implemented as a pilot project in the South of England, Local Government and Regions Minister Hilary Armstrong said: "By tackling small but significant local issues we can make a massive difference to people's quality of life. These new measures will together make our towns and cities better places to live in.

Home Office Minister Charles Clarke said: "Wardens, providing a semi-official presence can make a positive contribution to improving the quality of life in the communities.

"Street wardens, run by local authorities, will be based on the experience with neighbourhood wardens and will give more emphasis to the environmental quality of the local area."

But Coun Smith, while welcoming any scheme to improve the local environment, said he wanted to see the money 'in his hand' before praising it.

And he stressed that there would be no need for such schemes if members of the community acted more responsibly and stopped leaving mess in the streets.