matthew hart, of Teign Road, Teignmouth, writes:

I have written previously to the Teignmouth Post regarding dog mess in and around the area in which I live and Cllr Paul Burgess was kind enough to respond, but in a manner that failed to leave a positive impression that the seriousness of this problem was being dealt with in any manner at all.

This denial of sorts is only reflected in some of the dog walkers who clearly take their pets to relieve themselves on the sea front.

On witnessing this first hand I caught up with a couple who were quite aware of what their dog had deposited literally metres away from playing children. When I politely made them aware of what their dog had done they calmly told me that the tide would deal with it. (The tide would be there somewhere in the next five hours.) They looked educated and not at all embarrassed by their blatant irresponsibility.

It is not my job to pick it up, nor prosecute these selfish idiots, but surely if the dog warden was to catch a few people like this it would send a strong message out to those who may not see a reason to pick it up when so many others fail to and get away with it in Teignmouth.

I have never seen evidence of a dog warden or this mysterious dog poo fairy Cllr Burgess takes such pride in? I was a little disappointed by the resigned attitude to the suggestion of a campaign and I, like anyone else I have spoken to, was unaware of the previous campaign. It must be said with a title like Dog poo Fairy I struggle to see how it was not taken seriously.

Perhaps Cllr Burgess could see that apart from that campaign's utter failure, his energies could have been focussed more on actual dog mess bins – admittedly the beach area has plenty – being installed for Teignmouth's high percentage of dog owners and not silly little stickers aimed at naming and shaming that small percentage who tarnish anyone with a dog. I seek only to find a solution to the problem.

My letter simply urged the council to install far more dog mess bins in areas around Teignmouth. It stated clearly that the bins are not where they could be and are not obvious when they should be. Coombe Vale Road, for example, could have at least three on its own. The council simply has not catered for the number of dog owners in its area.

Perhaps Cllr Burgess could get his Poo Fairy to install them. This would then free up the limited resources of our dog warden, who I am sure does a fine job. Perhaps he could respond through the Teignmouth Post, as could anyone with a dog in Teignmouth.

Where would you suggest having more dog bins? how can we go about fixing this quite disgusting problem?

I see nowhere for kids to kick a ball around without coming into contact with dog mess, I see women pushing prams through it and I see little stickers warning about a fine if caught fouling – but very few places for people to deposit their dogs waste. More dog mess bins will inevitably reduce the amount on the streets, parks and playing fields.

What would make the council take this issue more seriously?

I look forward to your reply Cllr Burgess.THIS AND OTHER LETTERS IN OUR DIGITAL EDITION