THE WAR against dog owners who allow their pets to foul the town's streets has hotted up with a call for more vigilance...especially at dusk and dawn.

Macclesfield Council, which spends £37,000 a year on dealing with strays, plans to integrate its dog warden service into the pest control department to cut costs and to ensure that culprits don't offend under cover of darkness.

For currently the warden, who is contracted in, works only 37 hours a week patrolling the borough, collecting strays, and investigating fouling, which includes surveillance, barking incidents and promoting responsible dog ownership.

Councillor Sheila Greenwood was concerned about the offenders who strike at night. Currently pet owners can be subjected to £50 on the spot penalties plus larger fines in the courts.

"I think 37 hours is unrealistic," she said. "Dog fouling occurs in the morning or late at night when nobody is about. We need a warden to be around a lot more, we need at least two reliable dog wardens."

Mr Bryant added: "We are not going to tackle this problem unless we get the community on board. We have dog fouling hot spots that we need to tackle. Without the support it will be an uphill struggle."

The council has an obligation to collect stray dogs but if the abandoned pets are not claimed within three days, they are moved to Manchester Dogs' Home before being adopted by a new loving owner.

However, the cost of one week's stay at the home for one dog, sets the council back £39.

At a Public Health Review Committee meeting at Macclesfield Town Hall, head of environmental health Tony Bryant said: "The police will not collect stray dogs. The council is the authority that would collect a stray dog, we have a duty to deal with them.

"The police station only has a kennel big enough for one dog. They will not put a stray dog in a dog handler's van because of the spread of disease."

Members of the committee reviewed the job of the current dog warden at the meeting and said that they felt the position was an essential local service.

The current dog warden is employed from an external contractor but members of the review committee approved proposals for a fully integrated pest control and dog warden service, increasing the number of staff from one to four.

The proposal will be raised at the Macclesfield Borough Cabinet meeting today (Wednesday).