THE current restrictions on access to land, due to the foot and mouth crisis, have created an inconvenience to many people for a variety of reasons, but one that has come to the fore is that of a very small minority of dog owners, who see fit not to clear up the mess their animals make.

Despite the town council providing free "poop bags" to dog owners, there is a growing problem of irresponsible owners allowing their pets to foul the pavements and gutters, without taking responsibility for clearing up afterwards.

While the act of a dog fouling any public place is not an offence in itself, it is the responsibility of the owner to clean up the mess, failure to do so resulting in the penalty of a fine.

A disgusting example of this is irresponsible attitude is the small Rose Garden, opposite Upper Hall Close, where piles of dog excreta have gone into double figures, from, I would hazard a guess, night-time dog walkers, who think they can "get away with it" under the cover of darkness.

It seems that allowing your dog to foul on a garden is "OK", and saves the owner the "not very nice" task of clearing up after their pet. Not only is this attitude reprehensible, but it is socially unacceptable.

On a secondary matter, but equally related, my wife and I were appalled to see a dog walker returning through the gate to the Riverside Walk early on Sunday morning, despite clearly visible notices on the gate, prohibiting entry to that area, because of foot and mouth. If you can't accept all the responsibilities of pet ownership, should you be a pet owner?

Neil Brambell, Bank Crescent, Ledbury (via e-mail).