Dog owners who fail to clean up their dog's mess will soon face fines of £100 as dog fouling and litter fines are set to double in parts of the county.

Failing to pick up after your pooch in designated areas, littering and fly tipping are among the offences that will see increased sanctions as Cherwell District Council looks to bring up rates to similar levels seen in other parts of Oxfordshire. 

Those caught leaving behind dog faeces or litter now face a £100 penalty, reduced to £75 if it is paid within 10 days. That is up from £50 for dog fouling and £75 for littering with no early payment discount previously applied.

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Fly tippers will be hit with a £400 fine, the maximum allowed by national laws and up from £250. 

Householders also have “a duty of care to take all reasonable measures to ensure they only transfer household waste produced on their property to an authorised person, business, or organisation” and can be fined if their waste is dumped by someone else. That penalty is going up to £300, reduced to £180 if paid within 10 days, from £200 or £120 for early payment. 

Cherwell District Council had scope to take this to a maximum of £400 as well but the report said it had opted for the middle ground “as most householders are not aware of their duty of care responsibilities”. 

All of the changes were accepted by the council’s executive, the team of Conservative councillors that form the ruling group across the district. 

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Councillor Dan Sames, Cherwell’s lead member for clean and green, said: “Most members, and indeed the public, regard these as quite serious cases and our current charges are some of the lowest in Oxfordshire.

“These proposals simply bring our charges in line with others across the county and also reflect the seriousness by which we view these offences.”

In South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse the envirocrime officers can issue a £50 fine to someone who fails to clean up after their dog. If the case goes to court this could cost the owner or person in charge of the animal up to £1,000.

Leaving dog mess can be dangerous and people of all ages can be infected with toxocariasis from dog faeces. It is a rare infection caused by roundworm parasites which are passed though animal faeces – most commonly from cats, dogs, and foxes. It usually affects young children who come into contact with contaminated soil when they play.

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