Forest Community Centre has installed ‘no dogs’ signs on its playing field following a surge in dog fouling over the past six months.
Volunteers say they were repeatedly forced to clean up large amounts of dog mess before clubs could use the field, prompting health and safety concerns – particularly for children. The situation led to postponed football matches and several complaints from parents and coaches.
In an open letter to the community, the centre said it had been left with ‘no other option’, describing one incident in particular as the tipping point.
“A little girl was playing football and fell over,” explained committee member Tina. “She had long blonde hair and when she stood up, it was all matted with dog mess. That was the last straw.”
The field is used by a range of local groups, including football teams for ages 4 to 40, the weekly parkrun, and town council-run games sessions. A new playgroup is also due to begin soon.
“We just can’t have dog mess on the field,” said Tina. “Now we have upgraded the building and changing rooms we are getting more groups in and more young people. We also have a playgroup starting soon and they might want to use the field.
“When we did an Easter egg hunt, we couldn’t put the eggs out where we wanted on the field because of the amount of dog poo. It just is not nice.”
In response, volunteers made and installed ‘no dogs’ signs around the field, which Tina says has already led to a 75% improvement.
She said, “There are still the few people who walk their dogs in the space, but we go out and tell them and 90% apologise and say they didn’t realise. There is the odd 10% who are verbally abusive.
“It is difficult; we can’t stop people who walk their dogs at six o’clock in the morning but we can try and stop the people who drive to the field in the evening, park up, open their cars, let their dogs run out and poo and then drive off again. We don’t think these people are from around here.”
She added, “We haven’t done this to be difficult. The land belongs to the centre and we’re within our rights to restrict access. It’s about protecting the children and the community groups who use this space.”
