Schoolboy, 6, nearly hospitalised by dog poo left on park path

A six-year-old boy nearly ended up in hospital after he was splattered with dog poo while riding through a park in Wirral this week.

Hannah Roberts’ son Toby was cycling through Mayer Park in Bebington on his way to school on February 13 when he ended up going through dog poo left on the path.

She said the dog waste was “splattered all over his face, the handlebars, and his coat. He started trying to spit it out of his mouth. I cleaned off what I could but I didn’t have any wipes and when I got into school I asked the teacher to help with cleaning him.”

Later that night, Toby woke up with extreme diarrhea and vomiting. The six-year-old has Type 1 diabetes which Hannah said makes it worrying “if he gets a sick bug, it’s really hard to keep his blood sugar levels up.”

She added: “I rang the hospital for advice because dog poo is dangerous.”

The hospital told Hannah to keep monitoring Toby’s blood sugar levels and bring him in if they became dangerously low, fortunately he did not get worse. Toby has now fully recovered but ended up missing a hospital appointment he’d been waiting seven months for.

Dog poo problem in Wirral

People can be given fines for dog fouling but people in Wirral have been complaining the issues are getting worse. Some have even gone to the lengths to rename their street “dog s*** alley” to complain about the mess people’s are leaving from their pets.

Fines are currently given out by Wirral Council but there are plans to outsource it to a company to crack down on the worst offenders in this year’s budget.

Hannah said: “It’s everywhere in that park and on the day that happened on Monday, a bin was overflowing with poo bags and on the way we walk to school there are always poo bags hanging in the hedge. I think it’s quite a big problem at the moment.

“There’s a dog that poos outside my house on the pavement. I walked to school this morning and someone had already trodden in it and it was splattered all over the pavement.”

What’s been said

Cllr Liz Grey, Chair of the Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport Committee, previously said: “Responsible dog owners will always make sure they pick up their dog’s mess straight away in a bag and put it in the nearest bin. Dog mess that is left on the pavement, or on grass verges, or in parks is a problem caused by a minority of irresponsible dog owners.

“There really is no excuse – it’s lazy, it’s selfish and it is anti-social. Of course, the council has a street cleansing schedule to clear up litter, dog mess and other rubbish, but with the best will in the world there are simply not the resources to enable our cleaners to respond reactively to every report of dog fouling.

“Dog fouling is an offence and the local authority has the power to issue a fixed penalty notice if someone is caught in the act by an enforcement officer.

“Wirral Council is currently looking once again at introducing a dedicated environmental enforcement team to patrol known hotspots and issue on the spot penalties to anyone who is observed committing a litter or dog-fouling offence.

“But the bottom line is, if you are a dog owner walking your pet, it is up to you to make sure you carry dog poo bags and it is your responsibility to pick any mess up in a bag and put the bag in the bin. It can go in any public litter bin, or your green wheelie bin at home.”