Man fined £80 for not having poo bag on short walk

A grandfather has said he was "absolutely amazed" after being given an £80 fine for going on a 10-yard walk with his dog without a poo bag.

Trevor Smith, 80, parked on the Wolverhampton railway station car park and was with two-year-old golden Labrador Ted when two men stopped him.

But the retired refuse worker told BBC Radio WM the puppy had not fouled and "nobody I know knew this law".

City of Wolverhampton Council said anyone in charge of a dog on public land was breaching an order "if they are unable to produce suitable means of removing dog faeces when asked to do so by an authorised officer".

Mr Smith said he walked across a road, stepped onto a footpath and two men "who I hadn't really noticed, suddenly were there [and] stopped me".

The Wolverhampton resident stated: "They... said 'have you got a doggy bag, a poo bag, for the dog on you?'

"I immediately felt in my pockets and unfortunately 'cos I'd already [taken] him a walk, before I got there on the fields where I live, I hadn't got one."

Mr Smith explained he did not have any but that his car was a few feet away and he could get them.

'Too much'

The dog walker said the men "weren't aggressive" and one was "actually fussing my dog".

But Ted "hadn't done a piddle or anything", Mr Smith said, and he thought a warning would have been adequate.

"I think I've been fined before the event.

"I think what they should have done is very widely publicise it, because.... I didn't know about the law."

Mr Smith said he thought about appealing, but a union advised him to pay.

"I can understand picking up the dog's mess, but being equipped with the equipment to do so, if you haven't got it, you're breaking the law, seems a bit... too much."

A council spokesperson said anyone in charge of a dog on public land was breaching a Public Spaces Protection Order if they could not produce suitable means of removing dog faeces when asked to.

"These additional measures were added to the PSPO in 2023" following a public consultation in which 91% strongly agreed, they added.

The spokesperson said not only was excrement "unsightly and a nuisance when you step in it, but contact can also lead to blindness due to an infection called toxocara canis".

"Anyone wishing to appeal their fixed penalty notice can do so."