Baby's Grave Soiled

Cemetery patrols are being increased in a bid to tackle dog owners who allow their pets to foul on graves.

It's after a family, who lost their baby boy in July, found his grave at Dunfermline Cemetary had been soiled.

The baby's uncle, Alexander Stewart, said: 

"A cemetery is supposed to be a place of respect. A place you can go and remember the ones you've loved and lost. A pet owner allowing their dogs to foul on lairs is possibly one of the most disrespectful things they can do. How would they feel if someone allowed their dog to foul on a loved one's lair?"

Cllr Gavin Yates, Executive Spokesperson for Community Health & Wellbeing added: 

"Incidents like this are understandably distressing for families visiting our cemeteries and I hope that the increased presence of the Environmental Enforcement Team will lead to improvements at Dunfermline Cemetery.

"Dog fouling is an issue that affects people in all communities across Fife. It's not just a problem on our pavements, in our parks or on our playing fields but unfortunately in our many cemeteries across Fife too.

"The aim of stepping up patrols is not to issue large numbers of fixed penalty notices, but to let irresponsible owners know that dog fouling is not acceptable and must be stopped. And we want to remind everyone else how they can help by reporting instances of dog fouling to the Council. They can chose to do this anonymously and the information can help us to identify an offender and the best time to catch them walking their dog.

"When the Enforcement Team catches offenders, they may issue fixed penalty fines of £40. Repeat offenders can expect to be reported to the Procurator Fiscal where the maximum penalty under the Dog Fouling (Scotland) Act 2003 is £500."