This morning upon walking my two children to school from Hillcrest Road to Holy Trinity School we counted more than a dozen instances of dog poo on the pavement.

Walking to and from school should be a time for discussing the day's activities, not for keeping a sharp eye out and repeatedly saying 'mind the poo'.

Occasionally, one of the children, too busy chatting, steps in some muck and it is a terrible ordeal to get to school and find somewhere to wipe it off before the child goes into class and gets it on the carpet - bcause during the course of the day children will sit on the classroom carpet poo and all.

It seems to me that there has been an increase in the dog excrement on our pavements and I have some proposals for sorting the problem.

1. The council should introduce compulsory registration for all dogs. Fee £35 to cover paperwork, a numbered collar tag and the cost of more dog wardens.

2. Any dog owner can be approached by the warden and if their dog has no tag then the dog is impounded until a fine is paid. Money to go to more dog wardens.

3. More dog wardens should patrol the streets at the times when the dogs are being taken for their daily poo namely in the evening or early morning, it's no good looking for them during the day.

4. Dog wardens should travel in pairs on foot and have digital cameras to record offenders.

5. Offenders should be fined on the spot. If they run away as many are young people their photos should appear in the press and rewards be offered for information.

6. All dog owners who offend should be named and shamed in the local paper as well as being heavily fined.

7. Owners who repeatedly offend should not be allowed to own a dog.

If anyone can give be good reasons why such measures should not be put in place I would love to hear them.

In forthcoming local elections I think many people would vote for councillors brave enough to introduce these measures. Something has to be done.

Helen Toft Hillcrest Road, Weymouth, (A very angry parent who does actually like dogs, just not their owners).

PS Just this morning right outside school I witnessed a very stupid dog owner driving her car (a small hatchback) with a dog on her lap!