A COMMUNITY ‘dog watch’ scheme could be introduced in St Dogmaels in an effort to tackle dog fouling in the village and surrounding area such as Poppit Sands.

Steven Morby, an environmental health officer from Pembrokeshire County Council, told a meeting of the Community Council that the scheme had been trialled in Freshwater East and initial feedback showed it was being successful, with Saundersfoot also recently adopting the scheme and now Tenby looking to follow suit.

“We are looking at people in the community taking ownership of the issue,” said Mr Morby.

“We do not have the resources to be everywhere and we look for volunteers, we have about 25 in Freshwater, usually dog owners themselves, to wear hi-vis jackets and act as a visual reminder to encourage responsible dog ownership.

“Fingers crossed, it seems to be having an effect and working.”

He also revealed that Pembrokeshire was looking at supporting the re-introduction of a dog registration scheme - dog licences.

“We have been in touch with the Welsh Government regarding dog registration. It’s not about penalising responsible dog owners but we are looking at a fee of between £12 and £15 which is affordable but with that money to be retained by local authorities for dog control,” said Mr Morby.

Cllr Jonathan Martin said: “Education and peer pressure are probably the only real options. Signs and bins everywhere don’t appear to be the answer and does not fit with the environment we have here.

“It has been a problem as long as I have been here for 20 years but it seems if someone is walking along nearby, people are more likely to pick up their dog mess.”

Councillors agreed to set aside up to £500 to introduce a dog watch scheme.