COUNCILLORS have teamed up to help tackle the 'wide-spread problem' of dog fouling near a school in a Deeside town.

Councillors Bill Crease and Atony Wren were elected as Flintshire County Councillors for Connah's Quay South ward last week.

And one of the Indpendent councillors' first port of call in the area was to address the issue of dog fouling around Wepre School. 

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Both have been contacted by residents concerned about the mess along the paths near the school.

Cllr Crease said: "We went for a quick look round as we feel dog muck is a big enough issue normally but of greater concern where there is a very high concentration of young children.

"One of the walkways in particular seemed the worst location. We decided that the best solution in the interim was to remove the dog muck ourselves.

"Not only was there muck on the paths but several "pooh" bags containing muck were abandoned. It beggars belief that people would bag the muck and then abandon the bags on the paths and verges.

"One of the reasons for our visit was to check that there were sufficient bins in appropriate locations and I am pleased to see there are so there appears to be no excuse for this awful behaviour."

Last October, Flintshire Council urged dog owners to do the 'right thing' and pick up after their pets as part of a new national campaign from Keep Wales Tidy.

That came following a Flintshire rubbish collection company unveiling that dog poo litter was up 200 per cent in the county since the start of the pandemic.

You can report any instances of dog fouling you find in Flintshire via the council website here.

Cllr Crease added: "Dog fouling is an issue across town, county and indeed country and it will take time and community wide involvement. The vast majority of dog owners are responsible conscientious members of society. 

"I believe it has been a priority for those before me and again across town. There is no silver bullet. I can't promise instant results. The work being done in Golftyn, Central and Wepre highlights it's a wide spread problem."

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PIC: Wepre Primary School, Connah's Quay. Picture from Google Streetview.

Councillors Crease and Wren also picked up rubbish on their quick walk around and were quick to praise children at Wepre School for their efforts in keeping the area tidy.

Cllr Crease added: "I taught for many years and one of the constant struggles was getting young people to not litter and to encourage others around them to not litter.

"We must give a huge shout out to pupils at Wepre as there really was very little litter in the immediate vicinity of the school. I will be contacting the school to ask them to pass on our congratulations.

"On the general tidiness around the school, perhaps some grown ups could take notice of our children's good habits."