DRIVING around South Lakeland in his van emblazoned with the words 'Dog Warden, Serving your Community', Mr Wood said he almost always got a very warm welcome.

"People often wave and cheer when they see the van.

I've had a lot of people who have come up to me and said how glad they are to see us, or it's about time something is done about it," he said.

Mr Wood, who works full-time as a dog warden for K9 in his home town of Accrington, works 48 hours a month for SLDC as an enforcement officer, handing out £25 fixed penalty fines.

"My brief is to issue as many fixed penalty tickets as I can," said Mr Wood.

"Nobody knows when I'm on duty, I can come early morning, late at night, basically I can be anywhere at anytime."

Tickets are dished out to people who fail to clean up after their dogs and, if owners appeal, the council can take them to court, where they face fines of up to £1,000.

So far, Mr Wood boasts a 100 per cent record in having fines paid.

"I have heard a lot of excuses, and there are some people who just accept they are taking a risk, but a lot of people really don't know it's an offence," he said.

"Often the reaction is 'I've never had one before', and because they have

not been harassed before they are complacent about it."

In the three months he has been operating in the area, the dog warden said he had already seen a noticeable difference in the areas he has been asked to target, including Arnside.

But he said that it only took one irresponsible dog owner to cause problems in an area.

Mr Wood was also keen to point out the health hazards that dog dirt poses, which are all preventable if the waste is removed.

Before long on Tuesday this week, Mr Wood was called into action.

After peering through his binoculars, he spotted a dog fouling the beach.

After watching to make sure the dog's owner had not stopped to clear up the mess, he drove around and approached the woman.

"I pointed out that her dog had fouled, she said 'what happens now', I said I was going to have to give her a fixed penalty and explained the procedure, and she accepted it," said Mr Wood.

The owner, who declined to give her name, told the Gazette: "I think it's probably right."

Visitors to the area backed the attempt to the clean up the problem.

Peter Jones, from Blackpool, was on his first visit to Arnside, and said he had noticed there was a problem with dog dirt, but added: "If they're trying to sort it out, that can only be a good thing."

Villagers out walking their dogs also supported the scheme.

Vera McDougall, who lives in the village, said that the minority of irresponsible dog-owners gave the majority of responsible owners a bad name.

George Chatham agreed that the high-profile activity of the dog warden was a good idea, but added: "The trouble is around here there aren't enough bins, and you've got to walk a mile before you can find one."

Scott Burns, SLDC's principal environmental health officer, said owners could dispose of dog waste in normal bins as long as it was wrapped up securely in a plastic bag.

He explained that the authority was in the process of charging more of its officers with the power to issue on-the-spot fines to put owners on guard and to increase the chances of offences being spotted.

SLDC's full-time dog warden Jenny Kempsell continues to carry out the authority's statutory roles, such as dealing with stray dogs, looking into complaints of dog barking, and promoting responsible dog ownership, as well as working to address dog-fouling.