MORE than a quarter of Mullion’s residents have signed a petition calling for action over the amount of dog mess on the village’s streets.

The campaign calls for Cornwall Council to address the issue, which has been described by organisers as an “increasingly horrible problem”.

The petition will be presented to the parish council and local Cornwall councillors later this month.

The village has seen an increasing amount of dog mess being left on streets and roads either as it stands or in plastic bags hanging from trees and bushes. The petition organisers are demanding that an awareness campaign, including talks, events, posters and flyers are given out by the local authority, combined with a concerted effort to provide adequate numbers of refuse bins and their regular emptying.

The group, consisting mainly of local parents, have made attempts to gather support from the Parish Council, the local Cornwall Councillor, and the local MP. Head of the group, Louise Martin, has also spoken directly with the dog warden department, but to no avail.

Mrs Martin said “There is strong feeling about this issue in the village. The walk to and from school is spent looking at the pavement telling the children to ‘mind the poo’ – it’s not only disgusting, it’s dangerous. “Although the area dog warden has been very helpful, we need the council to stop saying it’s a lack of finance and address this issue accordingly.”

Group member Lee Dunkley added: “It is not in anyone’s interest for this issue to be dragged out. Once we hit the tourist season, the last thing we want is for visitors to see posters and petitions about dog poo all over our beautiful village. “We need the local authority and our democratic representatives to act now – there is a huge mandate for this as shown by the petition.”

Lorraine Brown, also of the campaign group, said: “Many people have very strong opinions about this issue. Raising awareness is the key, as opposed to simply emptying the bins. “We need a full campaign with proper signs with slogans as well as a leaflet drop – we need to educate people and make them aware they can use any bin.”