A gate to a playingfield in Cradley was ripped from its hinges when the parish council put up a 'No Dogs' sign.

The sign asked people to stick to the public footpaths at Buryfields and not let their pets foul a children's play area.

Speaking at a council meeting on Tuesday, Coun Geoff Thomas said a nearby resident had told him people were deliberately taking their dogs on to the field.

"There's obviously some anger about this," he said.

The council's playing fields committee is investigating plans to fence off public footpaths crossing the land.

Councillors decided that the committee would also discuss ways to communicate the health dangers of dogs fouling on the children's play area.

Letters about the dog fouling problem have already been sent to residents on the nearby Buryfields estate.

Parish council chairman David Creed-Newton said he felt it was a question of winning the dog walkers' hearts and minds, rather than enforcement.

Funding for Storridge Churchyard was also raised at the meeting.

Churchyard committee member Don Hurle wrote a letter of complaint after the council contributed only £160 for the upkeep of the site this year, compared to £350 last year.

While some members felt the amount should be increased by £100, others felt the sum was adequate when balanced over the past two years.

The council decided not to give any more money, but the churchyards committee will review its funding system.

Other business included flooding problems in Vinesend Lane caused by damaged verges, which the lengthsman will investigate.

Councillors decided to again write to Herefordshire Council after it refused to put reflective paint on a kerb sticking out by the new primary school.

They voted against adopting a payphone in Bearswood, Storridge, that BT plans to remove, because it would be too expensive.

Planning committee members supported an application for permanent consent for the Out to Grass mountain boarding centre.