DOG owners are being warned they could face fines of up to £1,000 if they allow their animals to foul the footpaths skirting Wootey School playing field.

Parents of children at the infant and junior schools have been so outraged by the state of the paths that they have persuaded East Hampshire District CouncilÕs dog wardens to install CCTV cameras in a bid to catch the culprits in action.

ÒIf caught allowing their dogs to foul the footpaths, owners will be prosecuted,Ó assured EHDC environmental health technician Dave Griffiths who, with dog warden Liz Mould, chaired an open meeting at Wootey Infants School on Wednesday last week to discuss the matter.

The clean-up campaign is being spearheaded by a band of determined parents from the Infants School who are not only sick to death of having to clean dogs faeces from their children'sÕ shoes and clothes, but are frightened about the health risk.

The final straw came last week when a four-year-old girl trod dog faeces into the classroom carpets - carpets on which the children sit to play and listen to stories.

In two strongly worded letters of complaint to EHDC, Paula Phillips drew attention not only to this incident but to an occasion last Friday when her young son arrived home with dog mess on his shoes and on his trouser legs.

ÒKnowing the footpath was filthy I was careful to watch where he walked and tried to ensure, as always, that he stayed on the path, but all the same he was covered in faeces,Ó said Mrs Phillips.

She and her husband have also pointed out that while the majority of dog walkers pick up their mess and use the bins provided, the bins are more often than not overflowing.

Amanda Rear is another parent who walks her children to school using the footpaths, the state of which she describes as ÒshockingÓ.

According to Mrs Rear, she walks from Rookswood to the school gate - a three-minute journey during the course of which she counted, on one occasion last week, 16 individual piles of dogs mess, much of it in the centre of the path.

ÒIt is a complete nightmare trying to stop the children walking in it,Ó says Mrs Rear who was at last weekÕs meeting when EHDC officers agreed to install CCTV cameras which they hope will act as a deterrent.

ÒThe hope is that dog owners will take a more responsible attitude and pick up after their animals,Ó explained Mrs Rear.

The parents have also asked for the paths to be cleaned up. ÒThe whole area - the paths and the grass verges are riddled with dog dirt which is quite disgusting. The paths really need to be steam cleaned so that we can make a fresh start,Ó she said.

Following the meeting Mr Griffiths has confirmed that CCTV cameras will to be set up around the Wootey School area this week.

ÒWe have always had complaints at Wootey School but the situation seems to be getting worse,Ó said the officer.

According to Mr Griffiths, the camera was first used for this purpose on Petersfield Heath last year where it was successful in dramatically reducing the number of complaints.

ÒWe hope that the cameraÕs presence will act as a deterrent, but action will be taken against dog owners who are caught,Ó he added.

Mr Griffiths has also agreed to talk to EHDC engineers about cleaning up the area in order to improve conditions for the children and so that it will be more obvious is owners are still allowing their animals to foul the paths.

In addition attention is to be drawn to the problem of overflowing dog bins, with the need for more regular emptying or the installation of more bins on the site.

The Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996 enables local authorities to take action against dog fouling. Owners in East Hampshire who fail to clean up after their dogs in an area to which the public have access face a £50 fixed penalty fine or prosecution, which can lead to a fine of up to £1,000.