Dog walkers on park patrol

Dog walkers in Bingham have said they will police Butt Field themselves to ensure it is kept free of faeces.

Two representatives from Bingham’s recently-formed Dog Owners’ Group faced town councillors on the recreation and cemetery committee to tell them the group had been policing the area themselves to keep it free of mess and would continue to do so.

Mr Dylan Marksman (42) and Mrs Anita Farr-Varney, speaking on behalf of the dog-owners in Bingham, said the group had taken the action in a bid to get Butt Field signs, instructing all dogs to be kept on a lead, removed.

They said dog walkers felt extremely victimised and disappointed when the signs were put up in April.

They produced a petition, containing more than 220 signatures, which called for them to be taken down.

Mr Marksman, of Forest Road, said the signs punished responsible dog owners while the irresponsible owners continued to leave their dog’s faeces on the open ground.

He said he thought the town council’s approach was inconsistent, as signs had not been erected around other parks in Bingham such as Wynhill and Wychwood Park.

Mr Marksman, who has a Labrador called Oggy, said councillor Mr Frank Kerry’s remarks at the Bingham annual town meeting last month regarding the risk of infection from dog mess, known as toxocariasis, were not based on official facts.

“There has been one case of toxocariasis in the last year in the whole of the UK, and the infection is most prevalent in foxes. It is not a major risk,” he said.

Attending the meeting as a member of the public and not a councillor, Mr Francis Purdue-Horan, raised the issue of insurance.

He said should an incident, such as a dog bite, happen on Butt Field then without the signs the legal liability could lie with the town council.

Mrs Farr-Varney, who trains dogs for a living, said the dog warden for Rushcliffe in his 12 years’ experience had never know of an incident of that kind in Bingham.

Furthermore she said constraining dogs to a leash and not exercising them properly would anger the animal and could increase the risk of such an incident.

The Mayor of Bingham, Mrs Maureen Stockwood, reminded everyone that the signs were originally put up after several complaints from the football and cricket clubs.

The chairman of Bingham Youth Town Football Club, Mr Steve McRobie, re-instated the club’s stance that dogs should be under control but not necessarily on a lead.

Mrs Ann Bryan said she had noticed in the last month that the field had been very clean and it was a testament to how hard the dog walkers were working.

The dog walkers said they would like to hire Butt Field for a dog training class one night a week.

“We can assure you the field would be left clean,” Mr Marksman said.

Mr McRobie said he did not doubt that it would be, and said he would put the idea to the sport’s club committee.

Mr Kerry, who chaired the meeting, made no assurances that the signs would be taken down but thanked the dog-owners for attending.

Speaking afterwards Mr Marksman said he thought the meeting was partially productive.

“We have done a lot of work on our part. Whether or not they will remove the signs is yet to be seen. It seems their minds are already made up,” he said.