A DIRTY row has broken out between dog walkers and a district council over difficulties in picking up dog dirt in overgrown grass.

Residents in the Whitefields estate in Richmond have contacted Richmondshire District Council to request the grass on communal areas is cut more often – because of the difficulties in picking up after dogs properly in the long grass.

Mike Warren, a former member of the dog fouling scrutiny panel for RDC, said he and fellow dog owners were becoming frustrated with the state of the grass in the Whitefields area of the town.

“It is virtually impossible to pick up after your dog when the grass is so long all it does is get tangled up in the storks.

“I used to be on the dog fouling panel and I raised this issue then some two to three years ago but nothing has changed.

“I have talked to the operators who have to cut the grass in the past and they themselves had raised the issue because cutting the grass after dog fouling has occurred is not safe for them especially not being issued with the correct safety clothing.

“All I can say now is that I expect the grass in Whitefields estate to be cut and maybe a rethink on who is managing the situation.”

He said he was told by the council that everyone should be picking up dog dirt – but Mr Warren said it was missing the point.

He said: “We do pick up but when the grass is too long it is impossible to get all of it.”

The grass has recently been cut but Mr Warren said it has already long again after just a few days – showing the need for more regular trims.

Colin Dales, corporate director at RDC, said: “At the moment we are on top of this programme with all cuts on schedule. However, the programme can suffer minor set-backs due to heavy rain. We do take concerns from our residents seriously and we will undertake a further inspection of the Whitefields estate to ensure the cutting programme is up to speed.

“However, where our grass cutting programme is disrupted temporarily we do ask for residents’ cooperation in terms of exercising reasonable control of their dogs, particularly where poo picking may be difficult to undertake effectively in certain areas of grass

“We take health and safety extremely seriously and have a very good track record in this respect, keeping our operatives safe.”