THE council has extended an order preventing dogs fouling on a sports ground.

To help combat mess on Colchester’s Mill Road Sports Ground, Colchester Council has extended its Public Space Protection Order (PSPO).

The original PSPO comes to an end on Wednesday and, following public consultation, has now been extended for a further two-year period from November 1.

The PSPO seeks to make sure the sports grounds can be safely enjoyed by sports groups and members of the public, by banning dogs from the pitches and ensuring dogs are kept on leads on non-sports pitch areas.

It extends to include the former training ground of the Iceni Dog Club, which is no longer based at the sports ground.

Tina Bourne, councillor responsible for communities, said: “I’m sure the local community and sports groups will be delighted the PSPO has been extended for a further two years.

“We hope the message is getting through that dog owners need to clean up after their pets but having the PSPO in place gives us greater powers to enforce against this anti-social behaviour.”

To date, enforcement under the PSPO at Mill Road has resulted in 12 fixed penalty notices and a successful court prosecution against a dog owner who allowed her dog to be off the lead on the Mill Road sports pitches.

With the new PSPO in place, anyone caught breaching its terms will face a £100 fixed penalty notice.