Poo Patrol

This morning I went on a poo patrol in Stroud Green with Haringey council's Tony Chapman and Martin Lester. Lots of residents and shopkeepers had complained about dog fouling in the ward and so I called on the enforcement team to take a look.

We visited various hot spots (ew...) looking for dog poo. I learned a lot about poo today. As the mother of a two year old I thought I was an expert on the matter, but no. Lots of the poop we see on the pavements is in fact not dog poo, but fox poo apparently. Sometimes cats will poo on the pavement - we saw a delightful example today on Lancaster Road.

Not many people bother to report dog dirt - there were only 9 complaints on the matter in Stroud Green in the last 18 months. It does obviously matter to people through - as well as being disgusting it poses a public health risk, of course.

Anyway, the council are aware of the worst spots in Stroud Green and leaflets are going out from next week on the subject. Wardens will patrol the areas I have highlighted - although more staff are needed as there are only 18 wardens for the whole borough at present.

As we walked through the ward we also made a note of dumping problems. It as great to have the staff there to see it for themselves - it's an approach I very much want to take if elected next year.