MIND your step!

That was the call from many parents over this dog-fouled footpath in Golcar – used by scores of primary schoolchildren every day on their walk to school.

Outraged parents, staff and pupils of St John’s Junior and Infant School in Field Head, Golcar are considering setting up their own patrol to crack down on the dog-owners who blight the area.

Mum-of-three Kerry West raised the problem of dogs defecating on a path near the school with Kirklees Council.

She said: “This path was clear before the weekend and we have come down and its covered again.

“One of the dog wardens came out and she gave out dog poo bags and poop scoops. But we need more action. We are even thinking of setting up a dog patrol as we need to tackle the issue. Children want to walk to school but this is disgusting.

“We have had a problem for a number of years. The school has run campaigns and the council have put up signs, but this is worst it’s been. It’s not nice every day to know you have to walk through the stuff.”

She added: “There are only four dog wardens for Kirklees. It’s just another case of people being overstretched.

“I know a number of people who would volunteer to patrol it to keep it clear.”

St John’s head teacher Kathryn Benford said: “It’s been an issue for a number of years. The dog wardens and local councillors have introduced bins and put up signs.

“The problem is they can’t be there all the time. I was standing at the gate yesterday morning and there was a massive pile of mess. It’s just unpleasant.

“And if it comes into school it gets on the carpets or the children’s hands.”

Dog excrement, if it comes into contact with the eyes, can cause blindness.

Mum-of-two Clare Dorotiak said: “They promote walking to school but this time of year especially the path is littered in dog poo.

“It’s awful. It’s got to the point where we have a spare pair of shoes just in case.”

Fellow mum Deborah Allen, 42, who has an eight-year-old daughter Isabel Bangay, said: “Fortunately the school has a shoe change policy otherwise, particularly the reception class children, would be sitting on the carpet touching their shoes and getting it on their hands.

“There should be people out fining those who let their dogs foul. We are the one’s paying for their mess.”

Parents Diane and Michael Sharpe live behind the school and have had meetings with the dog warden and a sign installed.

She said: “The back gates are well used and the same is happening there. We are just powerless unless we take photos of the owner’s with their dogs.”

A Kirklees spokesman said: “The dog wardens met Clr Hilary Richards and the concerned parent and visited the footpath in question.

“The area has been checked and a request has been put in to clean the path. The wardens will visit as often as possible but people who live nearby or who use the path regularly may be able to give information as to the best time for the wardens to visit to catch the culprits, or information on who may be allowing their dogs to foul.

“The issue of dog fouling in the Colne Valley will be on the agenda at the forthcoming meeting of the Valleys Area Committee on February 9.”