A WORCESTER dog-owner has asked the city council for more dog bins to help clean up the city's canal towpaths.

Luke Silver, of Addison Road, Barbourne, often walks his rescue greyhound, Bentley, along the footpath near St Gregory's Mill Street.

"The council knows that the towpath is a problem area for dog mess and if the facilities aren't there for people to dispose of their dog's muck, then there is no encouragement to clean it up at all," he said.

"At the moment, I am always left with the option of either walking up to the bin on Bilford Road or down to the one on Flag Meadow Walk.

"Or I have to bag it up, take it home and put it in with my household waste, which is not ideal," he added.

The 27-year-old self-employed accountant has even written to the city council to ask for more bins near the canal, and in particular for one along the towpath near St Gregory's Mill Street.

He received a letter stating the council could not afford to add to the 100 bins it had already put up.

Martin Gillies, principal environmental health officer, said the council took the issue of dog fouling very seriously.

But he added that there was no statutory obligation on the council to provide bins.

He urged dog owners to take a poop scoop or a carrier bag with them when they took their dog out.

"The absence of a dog bin in a particular area is not a reasonable excuse to fail to pick up your dog's mess," he said.

If you see a dog owner failing to remove mess you should record the date, time and location of the offence, a description of the owner and the dog, and if possible their name and address and a record of any conversation that took place.

You should then contact the Environmental Health Division at the city council on 01905 722213/4.