MADAM, 

I am writing to raise my surprise about the attitude and behaviour of a local resident on Monday morning this week. I was driving into Monmouth and queuing with the school traffic along Hereford Road, outside the girls school.

I stopped opposite a young lady walking her small dog. Imagine my surprise, which quickly turned to disgust, when I watched her calmly throw a small black bag she was holding onto the grass verge beside the pavement!

It was of course a nicely filled bag of dog faeces.?She looked up as she threw the bag to see me watching her from a few feet away in my car – without any hint of embarrassment she turned and continued walking her dog.

I grew up in a small seaside town where we also had problems with irresponsible dog owners allowing their pets to foul pavements. So much so that a national newspaper nicknamed our town ‘Dodge City’.

I’m reasonably sure that our council does not employ a roadside dog faeces clearance service, and that this small black bag won’t wash away or decompose – but remain in sight and under foot. I can’t think of a worse place to behave in this way than right outside a school! The local primary pupils may find the bag interesting enough to open, the older children may well trample it underfoot as the walk to and from the town – how can a person think it is acceptable to leave dog faeces in a bag near the school? As I am unaware of any national shortage of pre-packed dog faeces perhaps the good lady would like to amend her ways and pick it up on tomorrow morning’s walk?

Please – to the lady in her 30s with dark hair, green coat, black leggings and a small black dog with red lead – clean up and bin it in future!

Tim Mulhall

(Monmouth)