COULD Weston be facing a ‘health hazard’ due to overflowing dog poo bins?

These are the fears of several residents across the town, who have raised concerns with North Somerset Council about dog mess bins which have not been emptied.

Julie Lester complained to the authority on four separate occasions after a bin near to her mother’s house, in Hawke Road, Kewstoke, was not emptied for more than two weeks.

She said: “It is absolutely disgraceful and the council just do not seem to do anything. The bin is a health hazard. It’s overflowing and people are now putting dog poo bags underneath it instead.

“The council have said they are going to fine people for not picking up their dog’s mess, but they cannot even be bothered to empty the bins.

“Why should we have to put up with it? We are responsible dog owners and we pick up our mess.”

Julie’s mother Valerie said the council should install more dog poo bins to combat the problem.

Valerie said: “The bin in question is about 50 yards away from my house and is on a public path.

“It really is not good. It’s unhealthy and the problem gets even worse in the warm weather.

“Nobody knows what they are doing and they say something will be done, but it always takes ages.

“Since the bin has been installed a lot of people use it, but there’s no other bin around here. The council really needs to install some more.”

Michelle Hewlett’s father Alan also complained after a dog poo bin near Windwhistle Primary School, on the Bournville estate, was not emptied for more than four weeks.

Michelle said: “It is right next to a school and it absolutely stinks, especially when it is hot. It has been four weeks since it has been emptied.

“People won’t pick up their dog’s mess if they cannot empty it anywhere.”

A spokesman for North Somerset Council said: “We can see that Ms Lester has complained before and one of our contractors should have emptied this bin.

“We are very sorry this did not happen and we will make sure the bin is emptied.”

* Have you been forced to complain about overflowing dog poo bins around town? Comment below or tweet us at @WSMercury