Path's doggy doo makes yucky mess of cycling

The amount of faeces along the path which starts near St Mary's Church has been condemned by five-year-old Georgia Hunt, pictured.

The Woodside resident said: "The cycle track is one of the very few places young children can ride their bikes safely. The problem is that people who own dogs have turned it in to a big doggy toilet and there is poo all over the place.

"This has completely ruined what should be a really good idea. My daddy has to run near me while I cycle, making sure I don't ride through or step in all the piles of doggy poo.

"He always has to clean up my bike after a ride. I think the people who own dogs should clean up their poo from the cycle track and that the council should prosecute people who let their dogs poo on an area where children play. It's really yucky and disgusting and the dog owners should be very ashamed."

The cycle track was conceived as an idea to welcome in the 21st century by connecting Barnham with Felpham and providing an alternative for cyclists to the busy A29.

Several delays meant it opened only last year. Georgia's complaint arose after she and her father, Mark, went on the cycletrack just after Christmas.

An Arun District Council spokeswoman said the council's dog wardens would make regular visits to the cycle path to try to identify those owners who failed to clear up after their pets.

She also asked residents to provide any information they had about the inconsiderate owners who used the path.

But she stated Arun did not have the responsibility to clean up any dog fouling on the path because the land had not been 'adopted' by the council.

This meant that it had no legal duties towards the area and did not have to provide dog bins there either.