DOG fouling incidents have been successfully reduced in a Tyne Valley town, according to a councillor.

Coun Gordon Stewart represents the Prudhoe South ward on Northumberland County Council and believes the town is combatting the issue with a raft of measures.

“One of the main complaints that councillors receive is about dog fouling issues – a subject that is often thought difficult to tackle," he said.

“Eastwoods Park had a reputation for being an area used more for exercising dogs rather than sport and recreation.

“Most dog walkers are very responsible people who clean up after their pets but occasionally a lazy person fails to do so.

"But with additional proactive patrols, reminders to dog walkers and even enforcement, the situation has improved greatly.”

Coun Stewart added: “We have possibly the only council owned dog exercise area in the county, which has greatly helped, along with a series of education events and even giving out free dog bags.

“The park has received a lot of investment over the last four years after having been neglected for decades and is enjoyed by residents and visitors.

“The community and councils working together has achieved so much, but there is much more to come.”

The Eastwoods Park dog exercise area is available to pet owners to train or walk their dog – providing the animal is cleaned up after and supervised.

In March, Prudhoe’s Eastwoods Park was recognised in the Keep Britain Tidy Network awards after it saw a series of improvements.

The local improvement project was one of just three shortlisted nationally in the ‘Community Engagement’ category of the awards which rewards action that has empowered communities to take responsibility and contribute to improving the quality of their local environment.