SOUTH Tawton Parish Council is urging dog walkers to clean up after their pets after contractors refused to continue maintenance of Ramsley Common due to the ‘excessive’ amount of excrement left behind.

There has been an ongoing issue with dog mess not being picked up by dog walkers, causing problems for contractors paid by the parish council to upkeep the area.

Last week, the regular contractors refused to continue maintaining the common for this year.

A spokesperson for the council wrote on its Facebook page: ‘The parish council pays for the maintenance of Ramsley Common so that it can be enjoyed by the public. We have long had reports of dog fouling on the common and have tried to fix this by reminding dog walkers to use the dog bin provided wherever possible.

‘Sadly, the situation has not improved; we have recently been told that our contractor will not carry out maintenance this year due to the excessive amount of dog mess. We’ve also been told that some people feel unable to use the common for walking as there is so much dog mess.

‘The council strongly urges all dog walkers on the common to use the provided dog bin — situated in the Ramsley Common car park — so that we can continue to maintain the common for the enjoyment of all.

‘The council is very saddened that the actions of a few are impacting on all other users.’

Andrew Sampson, chairman of the parish council, said: ‘The cutting up on Ramsley Common is an annual service provided by South Tawton Parish Council on behalf of the owners of Ramsley Common. South Tawton Parish Council provides a dog fouling bin and pays to have it emptied on a regular basis, but this problem still continues. Now, our contractor, who has cut the common for years, has said no more. If not cut, the paths up on the common would grow over very quickly.

‘We are looking into the problem and hope to continue the cutting of Ramsley Common very soon.’