Dog owner's anger after £100 beach fine

Alex Greenwood was issued with a £100 fixed penalty notice by an enforcement officer working on behalf of Fylde Council after taking her eight-year-old spaniel Bunty for an early morning walk on the sands.

Under council rules, dogs are not allowed on the beach between St Annes Pier and the Lifeboat Station, with a lead or without, at any time between Good Friday and the end of September.

Since the start of July, along with anti-litter rules, that regulation has been enforced by specialist private company District Enforcement, with the fixed penalty notices issued bringing fines of up to £100.

But as a visitor to the area who entered the beach some distance from the exclusion zone, Alex says she had no way of knowing about the rule, as the signs indicating it are on the Promenade approach to the stretch of sands affected rather than on the beach itself.

"When the officer approached me, I apologised and said I had no idea about the exclusion zone, as I was a visitor and there was no signage at Fairhaven Lake about the zone," said Alex.

"The officer said she was still going to fine me £100, even though she agreed that there was no signage about the exclusion zone at the Fairhaven Lake entrance.

"Apparently there is signage on the slipway at the Lifeboat Station but I hadn’t entered the beach there."

Alex appealed but received a reply back from District Enforcement, which said: "The council have sufficient signage in place to deter people from walking their dogs in the exclusion zones and therefore in these circumstances, the fixed penalty notice is considered justified.

"It is the responsibility of the dog owner to be aware of the controls in place."

The reply adds that as a gesture of goodwill, Alex has until August 6 to pay the fixed penalty notice.

Alex, who was visiting family from her home in Cumbria on the day the notice was issued, added: "I’m really in favour of dog exclusion zones and I have no difficulty with the policy - but the company that is enforcing it does not have a just appeals process and I think locals who run tourism businesses should be warned how visitors will be treated if they aren’t aware of the rules.

"Plus I think the council has to have clear signs up at all entrances to the beach near the exclusion zone to prevent people like me inadvertently trespassing into it."

Fylde Council was approached for further comment but a spokesman said the officer concerned with the matter was unavailable.