An unlikely new weapon is being used in the fight against Otley’s growing problem of dog fouling – bright blue chalk dust.

Campaign group muck: up! has started marking every pile of dog waste it spots with high-visibility chalk powder in a bid to stop people stepping in it.

The move follows a fact-finding tour of the town last Friday which found evidence of dog fouling in every street the campaign supporters visited during a nearly three-hour walk.

Campaign founder and Cambridge estate resident Sara Quin said: “As we were walking along we were marking all the piles of dog waste with powdered blue chalk.”

“Marking the waste with a bright colour makes it visible, and so harder to tread in, and also makes it so much more apparent how much of it there is in the streets.”

“We bought the chalk just as an exercise for the walkabout, but seeing how effective it was a few of the people on the walk are now going to carry on marking dog waste with chalk.

“We want to show all irresponsible dog owners the incidents of fouling all add up. In some parts of Wellcroft Park there were more than ten blue piles within three square metres, right beside the gate to the playground.”

The walk was set up to co-incide with the distribution of three awareness-raising posters designed by Otley schoolchildren in a bid to persuade dog owners to act more responsibly.

But the results shocked Sara, who was joined by members of Otley Town Council, Otley’s MP Greg Mulholland, the head of Leeds City Council’s dog warden team and a police community support officer, along with campaign supporters.

She said: “I knew the dog fouling situation in Otley was bad – that’s why I started muck:up! – but I had no idea it is was so bad.

“We walked for two hours and 45 minutes and the results were surprisingly bad. Unfortunately, every single street we went on had incidents of dog fouling. It really struck home how awful the situation is, particularly in the playgrounds.

“We need the situation to change, we need to re-educate all dog-owners, and we need to get the message through that it is completely unacceptable not to pick up every single time.”

Mother-of-two Sara started the campaign last year after becoming increasingly alarmed at the amount of dog waste littering the town’s streets and green spaces, and of its implications for public health.

Muck: up! committee member Mr Mulholland said: “There are many responsible dog owners who support the campaign and clear up after their dogs. The campaign is trying to educate others.

“The walkabout showed us the extent of the problem and we all must work together to make muck: up! a success.”

Anyone who would like a muck: up! poster to display on their property is asked to send an email to info@muckup.org.uk . The campaign also has a Facebook page and an online petition which can be viewed at petitiononline.com/mu2010/petition.