Here are the latest rules for dog walkers in Blackpool after the council updated its control orders

Residents were asked for their views ahead of Blackpool Council renewing rules about how dogs are exercised across the town.

The Dog Control Public Space Protection Order first introduced in 2018, has been renewed for a further three years. The order sets out where dogs must be kept on a lead and bans the animals from the main tourist beaches during the summer months.

Additional measures in the new order include dogs must be on a lead in areas around council-owned water bodies such as Stanley Park Lake. This rule is already in place as part of the Parks and Green Spaces PSPO, and was mainly introduced to protect wildlife.

The new order also says dogs must remain on paths and must only be walked on a short lead in cemeteries.

A consultation exercise which took place in September and October found the biggest problem reported by respondents was failure to clean up dog mess in parks, open green spaces and streets in Blackpool.

Just over 80 per cent of respondents agreed dog walkers should be required to show they have the means to clean up after their dogs, with enforcement such as a fine being handed out if they fail to comply.

One respondent said: "I am truly sick of seeing dog mess all over Blackpool on streets, parks, beaches, Promenade etc. A dog warden or park keeper is urgently required in Stanley Park."

They added the council should "issue on the spot fine tickets for fouling andmost importantly dogs running wild." Another said: "Regarding the ban from beaches, this needs to be enforced or there is no point in having a ban. The council needs to employ more dog wardens as it seems there are insufficient."

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Other respondents also raised complaints about dog fouling, with one warning: "It's getting more and more of an issue, where people are simply not picking up after their dogs."

Among the controls renewed within the latest PSPO are -

No dogs at any time between May 1 and September 30 on the beach between North Pier and the Solaris Centre on South Promenade.

Places where dogs are not allowed at any time include children’s play areas, multi-use games areas, ball courts, BMX and skate parks, bowling and golfing greens, the Stanley Park boating lake and ornamental ponds, Marton Mere lake, and the playing areas of all marked sports pitches when in use.

The order also rules dogs must be kept on a lead on all public roads, on Blackpool Promenade between North and South Pier, in public parks and gardens, in cemeteries and churchyards, car parks, on tram tracks and adjacent footpaths, at the Marton Mere nature reserve, the Cenotaph, the arboretum on Moor Park Avenue, the grassy embankments on South Promenade, and around Starr Gate tram stop.

Those found to be in breach of a PSPO could receive a £100 Fixed Penalty Notice or, if prosecuted, could face a fine of up to £1,000.