A man from Workington has been prosecuted after failing to clean up after his dog.

Magistrates have ordered Ron Clark, 54, of Hillcrest, Northside, to pay a total of £342 after he was caught by Allerdale council officers, and failed to pay the £80 fixed penalty notice they issued.

Clark was fined £220, with £100 costs and a £22 surcharge by Workington Magistrates Court.

The case was heard in his absence yesterday.

He must pay within 28 days and a collection order has been made.

The court heard how, on Friday October 30, two Allerdale council officers were carrying out routine checks along the cycle track at the rear of a car showroom in Northside.

They saw Clark walking a small brown dog on a lead, which stopped to foul the path.

Clark stood and watched it, but did not attempt to remove the mess and walked away.

One officer remained at the scene, while the other approached Clark, who claimed he hadn’t seen what his dog had done.

The officer issued an £80 fixed penalty notice but Clark failed to pay the penalty so the council took the case to prosecution.

Charles Holmes, Allerdale council’s head of community services, said: “The fact we are prepared to pursue a dog fouling offender through the courts shows how seriously we take this problem.

“This dog owner was issued with an £80 fixed penalty, which would have been reduced to £60 if he’d paid within 10 days. Because he didn’t do so, it’s cost him hundreds of pounds. If he had picked up his dog’s mess in the first place, it wouldn’t have cost him a penny.

“We receive so many complaints about this – not picking up after your dog is disgusting and anti-social, is dangerous to health and ruins the area for everyone around you. There is simply no excuse for not cleaning up after your dog – if we spot you, we will take action and we will take you to court if we have to.”