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London looks to Paris for answer to dog fouling
Mark Blunden8 Sep 2009
The latest weapon in the battle against dog filth on the streets of a London borough has been unveiled.
A modified motorbike has been brought in to vacuum up the mess and sterilise the pavement.
It was imported from France and is similar to the “motocrottes” which were used to tackle the problem in Paris.
Islington council is believed to be the first local authority to use the adapted Honda 125cc.
A water vacuum system is used on the mess, which is then sucked up by a hose and deposited in a 25-litre box on the back of the bike.
A pump then cleans the pavement with a flower-scented sterilising wash.
Islington's street wardens are using the bike, which cost about £12,000, across the borough. It will work alongside the council's road sweeping service.
In the past year its wardens have issued about 50 £80 fixed penalty notices for fouling.
The bikes were introduced in Paris in the Eighties but dropped in 2004 for being “inefficient”.
Reader views (13)
A large fine and make them pick up and clean the streets and childrens playgrounds for 12 months would change their minds to pick it up .
- THOMAS, PWLLHELI , GWYNEDD ., 25/01/2012 13:15
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I agree that the governement should be doing more about what is nothing more and nothing less than a crime!
I remember these bikes in Lewisham many years ago. Why are they no longer there? I don't know but imagine that they were overwhelmed!
Don't just leave it with this site. Join us in our quest to rid the world of this menace! Don't be silent, oppose dog fouling here:
http://dogfoulingandredrubberbands.blogspot.com/
- Peter Arronsen, London, 10/09/2009 12:42
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I've had dogs, and a couple of cats. But I've successfully kicked the 'pet habit' and encourage others to do the same. Owners spend an enormous amount of money on pets and then turn around and want free health car, free food, - TAXPAYER FUNDED anything and everything. Time to start fining those that do not clean up after their pets, make the owners pay the real costs of ownership and quit shoving it off onto others.
- Trunk, US, 09/09/2009 04:35
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Waltham Forest had some of these bikes in the late 90's and eventually disposed of them after they were found to be both unstable having 25kg of liquid sloshing around on the back of them as well as being unreliable. Why don't councils learn from each other rather than waste tax payers money by reinventing the wheel?
- Steve Williams, Leytonstone, 08/09/2009 22:23
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Lewisham council in london had motor bikes from France on the pavements back in the 1990s they were classed as pavement cleansing and so could be used as such. Unfortunatly the bikes were found not to comply to build regulations and had to be removed, and the cost of complying was found to be prohibitive and they never reappeard until now!!
- J. Mahoney, London, England, 08/09/2009 19:31
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A town in Germany had all dogs dna taken so any turds could be identified to an owner of the dog, much better way of dealing with it.
Why employ somebody to clean up the mess that should not have been allowed in the first place?
A bloke in my street on the same road let his dog mess out side my door, so I posted it back through his letterbox with a note, and he hasn't let his dog foul in our street since.
Zero tolerance neeeds to be adopted about this public health hazard.
- P Staker, Socialist Republic of Londonistan., 08/09/2009 15:26
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how about increasing the minimum fine for letting a dog mess the pavements up to say £2000, then get one of the the thousands of desk monkeys at any council to go out and patrol the streets and issue some fines. I am sure this will help curb the problem. Simply showing tbhe public that someone is going to clean up after them only encourages people to do it more. idiots
- Mr Opinion, london, 08/09/2009 13:24
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I agree with C.Nichol, what a good idea.
Or,
Irresponsible fleat-bitten mutt owners should either not be allowed to have a mutt or, if caught letting their mutt foul somewhere & not cleaning it up, should spend a month cleaning their local streets of this mess (unpaid of course!).
Dirty scum.
- Dom, London, 08/09/2009 13:23
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In Paris, these used to be chunky off-road bikes, and the riders would ride them down the pavement to deal with offending turds.
But this is the UK, so they've brought in weedy mopeds, and of course it will be illegal to ride them on the pavement. As it is also impossible to reach from the roadside to the pavement they will be utterly useless at tackling turds on the pavement.
What a pointless exercise by Islington. I'm sure Islington council tax payers will be delighted by this waste of money.
- George, London, 08/09/2009 12:57
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Great! Rather than deal with the problem of fouling dogs and their pooh-dodging owners, let's spend more of your council tax on dealing with the aftermath.
Of course it's much easier to waste money on more non-jobs than it is to fix a broken society that contains individuals who think it is right for their pets to empty their guts on the streets.
- Nobby Clark, Perth, the Scottish one, 08/09/2009 12:53
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So scooters(its not a motorbike) can ride on pavements now can they?! Or is this just to stop car drivers fouling their wheels?? At twelve grand I have to say they saw them coming, that scooter is 3 grand brand new max, add a dyson & top box, job done for for 3500 quid.
Muppets.
- Mac, London, 08/09/2009 12:53
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I'm pretty sure that Sutton council had these (or a variation thereof) way back in the early 90's, no idea why they were ditched, it was probably another one of the liberals grand ideas that never panned out.
- Bob, Cheam, 08/09/2009 12:15
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They should empty the tanks through the letter boxes of the dog owners that don't pick up after their flea-bitten mutts.
- C.Nichol, London, 08/09/2009 08:18
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