A COUPLE with young children are trying to highlight the issue of dog fouling in a bid to shame pet owners into clearing up their mess.

David Halford, of Dursley, has lobbied the town council over the issue of dog fouling around Dursley Primary School.

He says his family’s journey to school is becoming increasingly "hazardous and stressful" due to the unacceptable level of mess on the pavements.

He often walks his partner Liz Davis' children Kyle, six and Luke, five, to school from their house in Lower Poole Close, but said the walk is less than enjoyable thanks to dog mess all over the pavement.

On some occasions he has counted 10 separate piles on their 10 minute walk to school.

"When we first started walking to school in April 2009 we were shocked by the volume of dog excrement to be found on the pavements and have noticed a considerable increase this September," said Mr Halford, a law tutor.

He said he was worried about the health risks related to children coming into contact with dog faeces, including parasitic roundworm passed on through dogs, which can cause blindness in humans.

Mr Halford is so intent on getting something done that he addressed Dursley Town Council this month with his concerns.

Cllr Jane Ball, mayor of Dursley, said: "I am sure we all agree that educating people to clear up after their dogs is the main thing that needs to be done. We are trying to do something about this and the dog warden is going to go into the school to give a special assembly on the issue."

The council also said they were planning to put up over 100 ‘stop fouling’ signs.

Mr Halford said: "My gut feeling is that nothing is going to change until someone either gets fined or prosecuted.

"You can warn children to be careful, but they are only kids and they run around not looking where they are going or fall over, you can’t stop that. If I had known what it was like I would not have moved here."

Mr Halford is calling for an action plan to be devised between the council, parents, the school and local residents to try to combat the issue.