SAFETY fears in Tavistock?s main play area this week prompted urgent calls for it to be fenced off from the rest of the park.

And one Tavistock man is so concerned about possible health hazards in the Meadows he says he will boycott the area until the town council takes action.

Michael George has written to the council in the past asking it to segregate the area to keep dogs out.

But after an incident last weekend he said he and his family will no longer use the park.

Mr George?s wife and son were in the Meadows on Saturday when young Sam, aged four, complained of ?a funny smell? after playing on the rope climbing frame.

Mr George said: ?He was absolutely covered in dog mess, in his hair, on his hands and on his coat and trousers. A dog had fouled right next to the climbing frame, kids had then trodden in it and got it all over the ropes.

?As you can imagine, it?s not just unpleasant, it?s potentially a serious health hazard.?

Mr George thought most dog owners were responsible and cleared up after their dogs, but he said the play area should be fenced off to keep dogs out ? and to keep children safe within it.

He said: ?Something really should be done about it. They?ve fenced off the play parks at Yelverton and Mary Tavy ? if they can do it there, why can?t they do it here??

Tavistock resident Bridget Howlett said her children, aged three and eight, also got dog mess on their feet on Saturday afternoon after using the play park.

Mrs Howlett said: ?I feel very strongly about this, because of the health implications of toxicara. Once it?s in the ground it stays there for years.?

Mrs Howlett said it would make a ?huge difference? if the play area was fenced off.

?You?ve got a raging river on one side and a canal on the other. You want to enjoy the park yourselves and although you watch the kids like a hawk, anything could happen,? said Mrs Howlett.

And the headteacher of St Rumon?s Infants School in Tavistock backed the call for fencing. Mags Long said: ?I?ve had parents in the past say their children couldn?t use the slide or the climbing frames because they were covered in dog mess.

?It could cause blindness, even death for heaven?s sake. There are leaflets about the dangers in all the GP surgeries.

?I certainly think if all else fails and there isn?t the funding for increased monitoring of dog fouling, then a fence is the most easy and cost-effective way of protecting young children.?

Joe Flynn, headteacher at Tavistock Primary School, agreed.

He said: ?I think it?s fair enough to fence it off so children can?t be harmed ? it?s there for children, not dogs.

?I?m sure they could do something creative with a nice low, environmentally-friendly hedge with a fence within it ? it doesn?t have to be like Colditz.?

Town clerk Roger Howard said: ?The council has great sympathy with this problem. We do have a dog warden who has fined a few people, but unfortunately some people still allow their dogs to run wild.

?Fencing off the play park has been raised on several occasions, but councillors have always voted against it because they feel it would spoil the open vista of the Meadows. However, I am sure councillors would consider it again if enough people wrote and requested it.?