No-go area for dog walkers
| 16:41 UK time, Monday, 12 March 2012
Rhodri Owen walking a dog
Cherie Morgan, who has walked her dogs on a field in Nantgylo for 30 years, is angered about a recent change in policy at the local authority.
She said, 鈥淚鈥檝e been using this playing field for 30 years since 1979 when I moved to Nantyglo. I鈥檝e always walked my dogs, everyone in the area has walked their dogs.鈥
Her three year old Jack Russell was being walked by her grandson Kristian in January when he had a bit of a surprise. He was told by two security guards that he was breaking the law.
Cherie said,鈥 My grandson said 鈥榃hat have I done鈥 and they said 鈥榊ou鈥檙e in the dog exclusion zone鈥 and they issued him with a 拢70 fixed penalty notice.
Cherie was unaware that the council had created a dog exclusion zone in the playing fields. It鈥檚 all part of their new Dog Control Orders which apply to several public places in Blaenau Gwent.
She said, 鈥淚 was so annoyed, I didn鈥檛 know I was breaking the law, there's no way this fine will be paid. I will go to any court, prison but I will not pay the fine.鈥
Blaenau Gwent Council says there was publicity for the new rules in the lead up to the change-over聽 but Cherie claims there aren鈥檛 enough signs showing where you can and can鈥檛 walk your dog.聽
聽X-Ray鈥檚 Rhodri聽 Owen went to meet Cherie to check out the signs and asked her to point some out.
She said, 鈥淲ell this is my point, we鈥檝e used the entrance for 30 years, if we don鈥檛 know we鈥檙e breaking the law how can they fine us? If there was a sign here saying, obviously we wouldn鈥檛 use it.鈥
Cherie isn鈥檛 the only one who was unaware of the changes.聽 Dog owner Ken Jones has been walking his pet Choc in the playing fields for years and at the entrance he uses , there are no signs.
He said, 鈥淭wo chappies came across and said the dog was off the lead and in an exclusion zone and they were going to summons me, I said well there鈥檚 no fences here, no signs to say I can't bring the dog here.鈥
Ken was given a 拢75 fine and said he found the penalty harsh.
鈥淭he fine was hard for me and my wife to have to pay it because we're both pensioners but we were so worried about it to pay it, because if it went to court, we'd have to pay extra, wouldn't we?鈥
Welsh Assembly Guidelines for Dog Control orders state signs must be placed at regular intervals, on or near land to which the order applies.聽 That's not the case at the entrance Cherie and Mr Jones use.
When Rhodri visited one of the playing field entrances, there was a sign 鈥 and in one green area dogs are allowed in 鈥 but another area, marked red, it is a dog-free zone.
But, as Rhodri found, there is confusion as to where the exclusion zone starts and ends 鈥 and dog walkers say if they enter the park through the main gates, they have got to go through the exclusion zone to get to the area where they can walk their dogs.
Blaenau Gwent Council say that although the entrance Cherie Morgan uses is a right of way, it is not an official entrance.
They say there are signs at the official entrances - and they'll look into whether they can make it clearer for dog walkers to understand where they can - and can't go.
