FIFE COUNCIL say that they will increase enforcement on the West Fife cycle path to catch dog owners leaving their pet’s mess.

Users of the path, which follows the former Dunfermline to Alloa railway line from William Street to Clackmannan passing by Carnock, Oakley and Blairhall, say that dog fouling has become a major problem on the popular cycle and walking route and provides a health risk to both adults and children.

And now environmental chiefs have vowed to act and have encouraged the community to play their part in reporting offenders, adding that they can serve fixed penalty notices based on the evidence provided by a reliable witness.

One Dunfermline user of the cycle path, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Press, “I am a regular user of the cycle path and have been using it since it opened.

“Back then it was still very clean and user-friendly but over the years it has become a dog and horse toilet which makes it quite frankly unsafe to use.

“I took it upon myself to actually count the amount of dog messes and horse messes on the cycle path and I found no less than 36 dog messes in the first 400 metres and 40 horse messes in the first mile, many of them very fresh-looking.

“If a child accidentally became soiled with this mess, it would have potentially serious consequences but for adults the danger is just as great.

“It is simply not acceptable that the path is there to be enjoyed by the public and dog owners who don’t clean up after their animals make it very difficult to use for recreational purposes.” Elaine Devine, service manager in enforcement and commercial operations with Fife Council, said, “Thanks for bringing this to our attention, we were unaware there was an issue with dog-fouling in this area. We will now increase enforcement patrols on the cycle path.

“We encourage all dog walkers in Fife to ‘Grab It, Bag It and BinIt’. As long as the dog waste is suitably bagged it can go in any bin. If you get caught not clearing up after your dog, you could receive a £40 Fixed Penalty Notice. Everyone can help tackle this problem, by reporting any instances of dog fouling to the Council on 03451 55 00 22.” CCTV is also set to be brought in to help tackle West Fife’s dog fouling problem.

At a meeting of Townhill Community Council, Dunfermline North councillor Helen Law said that the council were “changing tactics” in tackling dog fouling with domehawk CCTV, a dog register, more bins and notices and a higher visibility of enforcement officers to catch and fine irresponsible dog owners.