Cornwall Council warn against littering or dog fouling

The warning comes as lockdown restrictions begin to ease and more people are able to go out and visit shops, restaurants and bars, and potentially generating more litter.

The issue of dog mess has become a persistent one, and penalties are in place for those people who refuse to clean up after their dogs.

Donald Martin, lead countryside officer at Cornwall Council, said: "Please respect our communities by being responsible and not littering, by picking up after your dog and by making sure that you bin rubbish or take it home.

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"We can all protect the landscape by ensuring we follow the Countryside Code, which sets out how visitors to rural areas can behave safely and responsibly, and enjoy the fantastic coastline safely by following the important advice issued by the RNLI."

In recent years, the Council has trained more staff members to issue fines against those who drop litter or allow their dog to foul without clearing it up.

The Council's teams will be out in the coming months and have warned that if they catch people dropping litter they could face a fixed penalty of £150 or £100 for not picking up after their dog.

In one notable incident two weeks ago at the Highburrow car park area in Porthleven, the issue has become so bad that the Penrose National Trust has decided to trial moving the dog bin from where it previously stood to 300 metres further up, as they claim the issue seems to occur within the first few hundred metres of the track.

The bin at Highburrow which has been moved by Penrose Nation Trust. Picture: Facebook/Penrose National Trust

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• Consistent fouling forces movement of dog bin to accommodate walkers

In a statement on its social media at the time, Penrose National Trust said: "Today, with the help of Porthleven Environment Group and support of Cornwall Council's local Dog Warden, we counted and removed a further 100 dog deposits at Highburrow.

"In an attempt to further improve the situation we are trialling a new location for the dog bin.

"As the majority of the issue is in the first few hundred metres we hope this will make it easier for dog walkers to dispose of their dog bags without having to double-back to the bin.

"Thank you for your support, Penrose Rangers."

Cornwall Council also regularly clean beaches and other public areas as well as empty bins and have asked people to report full bins to them via the Council website.