A West Cumbrian council will no longer be providing free bags for dog owners to pick up after their pets.

Allerdale council spends more than £12,500 a year to provide the bags and it has now announced that once supplies run out it will no longer provide the service.

It will invest the cash to fund public space protection orders to keep dogs away from the places where people play instead.

Michael Heaslip, Allerdale council's executive member with responsibility for locality services, said: "This change in our strategy benefits everyone – not just a minority of dog owners.

"Cleaning up after your dog is a responsibility of pet ownership – whether that's spending a few pence by buying bags especially to do so, or by reusing carrier bags or other waste packaging.

"The fact that we are no longer giving away free bags is no excuse not to pick up after them – it's your responsibility to feed your pet therefore it's up to you to deal with the by-products.

"We hope this won't come as too much of a surprise to people as, over the past two years, we have gradually been reducing the amount of bags we've been giving away.

"So, when the current stocks are finished, we will not be purchasing any more for distribution.

"Dog fouling is one thing which consistently makes our residents and visitors really angry.

"Those who don't have dogs hate it, as do those responsible dog owners who do clean up after their pets.

"We have made no secret of the fact we have a zero tolerance approach to dog fouling and that will not change.

"We will always issue on-the-spot fines or prosecute offenders if we catch you."