The areas in Wirral with the highest reports of dog fouling have been revealed.
According to data released to the ECHO from a Freedom of Information request, we can also reveal Wirral Council has not issued a single Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) - set at £50 - for dog fouling in the last two years.
A spokesperson for the authority said this is in line with the removal of the "Zero Tolerance" approach taken by the former contactor Kingdom.
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They also said there have in fact been three FPN in New Brighton and West Kirby in 2021 after hiring new community patrol officers.
The ECHO understands many of Wirral Council's staff were required to work from home during the pandemic, throughout 2020 and 2021 and did not engage in direct face-to-face interactions and others were redeployed into alternative roles supporting the public.
A spokesperson for Wirral Council said: "In response to public demand, a new Enforcement Policy was introduced by Wirral Council in 2020.
"This removed the Zero Tolerance approach taken with the employment of civil enforcement by the former contractor Kingdom.
"In its place a new Love Wirral strategy was introduced focusing on positive behaviour change via enabling, engagement, education and finally enforcement as a last resort.
"New Community Patrol officers were employed in August 2021 and their role includes dog fouling enforcement.
"They have issued three FPNs for dog fouling under the PSPOs in place in New Brighton and West Kirby in 2021."
The ECHO asked for the streets with the most reports of dog fouling but were told the data was unavailable for individual roads and instead the council were able to provide the areas that had the most reports.
In general, the areas with the highest number of reports are;
Moreton
Tranmere
Liscard
Seacombe
Wallasey
Rock Ferry
Heswall
West Kirby
Eastham
Wirral Council advises all those with a dog to always carry bags when you take your dog out so you can clean up after it and to put dog waste in a nearby litter bin or your own wheelie bin.
If you need to report a problem with dog fouling you can do so via the council website here.
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