ROGUE dog walkers will be given £50 on the spot fines for failing to pick up after their pets.

Colchester Council bosses have rubber-stamped a borough-wide Public Spaces Protection Order, which will come into effect on Monday.

It means anyone who does not pick up after their pets can be handed the fine.

If the fine goes unpaid, people can then be ordered to pay up to £1,000.

The order was given the go-ahead by the council's public protection boss, Mike Lilley (Lab), after it was discovered fines could no longer be issued legally because the law which allowed for it has expired.

A separate proposal - specifically for Mill Road rugby club, which could force dog owners to keep their pets on a lead - is still in the pipeline.

Mr Lilley said: "Dog fouling has been a problem for a long time and I know from experience how frustrating it can be for everyone who uses public areas when there is dog mess around.

"We will be focusing on areas used widely by the public such as Castle Park, the Old Heath Rec and the Mill Road sportsground but that doesn't mean we won't be in other places as well."

He added: "We have to be realistic, we are not going to catch hundreds of people because we never have in the past."

Under the order, police officers and council workers will be able to issue the fines to nuisance owners but Mr Lilley admitted the task is likely to fall on the council employees.

He added: "It will be down to our officers really. We cannot expect the police to do much in the way of issuing dog fines."

The order, which will last for three years, does not apply to blind people or people with assistance dogs.