There are now 27 places in Porthleven where free dog poo bags are available in an emergency.

A project being trialled by the Porthleven Environmental Project, to provide free bags to dog walkers so that there is never an excuse not to pick up after their animal, has gathered pace in recent week.

A further 16 locations have now been added to the 11 dispensers originally placed at bins in the port, thanks to suggestions from members of the public.

The scheme follows suggestions given by the public at two open events held by the group, looking for suggestions of projects.

Trevor Toms, vice chair of the group, said: “We know from our members, from feedback from the local community at events and from tracking social media that people not picking up their dog poo is a big issue for our community.

“There are already over 30 bins for dog poo in Porthleven and we wanted to offer a practical and positive solution to further encourage residents and visitors to pick up their dog’s mess.

“We’ve started in a quiet way using existing resources to see how it goes and if it’s successful we will look at funding to keep the stocks replenished and advertise the move more widely.”

The town council has paid for the dispensers and an army of volunteers has been signed up to replace the bags, making it a true community effort.

This initiative is the latest in an ongoing drive against dog fouling in the village. In 2014 the POOP (Poo Out Of Porthleven) group was set up and the following year pupils from Porthleven School ran an awareness campaign in conjunction with the town council.

Failing to clean up after your dog has fouled will result in a fixed penalty of £80 being issued, while prosecution in the courts carries a maximum fine of £1,000 if a person is found guilty.

A form is available to complete on the Cornwall Council website cornwall.gov.uk to report a witnessed dog fouling incident. It can also be used to report bins that need emptying.

The Porthleven Environment Project was set up under the town council, using funding from the Big Lottery, to look at a range of environmental initiatives in Porthleven.

The group meets monthly and its meetings can be attended by the public, the next being in The Smithy at the Ship Inn at 7pm on Tuesday, September 12. It can be contacted on Facebook or via porthlevenenvironment@gmail.com.