STOURSCOMBE resident Les Whaley has called on Launceston Town Council to help fund a dog warden for the area.

Mr Whaley made the remarks at the latest full Launceston Town Council meeting at the town hall on Tuesday, July 16.

Mr Whaley later told the Post: In Stourscombe there’s lots of dog fouling going on, even though there’s a bin. I’ve had the dog warden up from Truro from Cornwall Council and he covers a fair bit of Cornwall, but he can’t be here from 9-5.

“The thing is, the town council have a dog warden called Andrew Frain, but he also does the maintenance and understandably can’t get up here.

“But the point is, I as a resident have raised a sponsor for the bin at the A388 roundabout by the Taylor Wimpey site from North Cornwall Kitchens. This has paid for the dog bin so surely the council could raise some money for a part-time warden.

“There has been a suggestion that us as residents do it, but that’s not practical as if we ever had to issue a fine, there could be repercussions to us individually, so we look to the town council to address the problem.

“We’re prepared to meet with the town council to see how we can sort this out.”

When asked about the scale of the dog fouling, Mr Whaley said: “It’s daily, it can be all over the path. We’ve been out at 6.45 in the morning to catch a person but we haven’t been able to do so. But something needs to be done.”

In response, the mayor of Launceston, Cllr Dave Gordon, said: “There does appear to be a continuing problem at Stourscombe regarding dog mess, and this is a problem that the town council is aware of.

“The problem we have is that this problem is a result of a few inconsiderate dog owners who feel that they have a right to allow their dogs to foul our streets.

“There are a number of dog waste bins and general waste bins around our town, all of which are available to deposit bagged dog waste.

“Unfortunately the few inconsiderate dog owners refuse to use them for the purpose they are there for.

“The town council does have a dog warden who is capable of issuing tickets, unfortunately this role is not his sole role within his employment.

“We have informed the county dog warden who covers Launceston who assures us he will attempt to monitor the situation, not only at Stourscombe but other areas of our town affected by the same problem.

“The only real long-term solution to this problem is for the town council to consider employing a full time street warden in my view, and that of course requires funding.

“The town council will continue to monitor the situation within our town, and consider the best way and most affordable way we can address these issues affecting our town, when we set our budget for 2020-2021.”