Leeds woman hit with £5,000 council fine for not picking up after dog or keeping it on lead

Angela Dunn, of Victoria Park Grove, Bramley, was sentence in her absence at Leeds Magistrates Court for ten offences – five relating to dog fouling and five for not keeping her dog on a lead.

As well as the hefty fine, she was charged with paying Leeds City Council’s legal costs of £1968.00 and a victim surcharge of £200.

Ms Dunn ended up in court after she failed to engage with the council’s cleaner neighbourhoods team, ignoring a £100 fixed penalty notice (FPN) for an initial offence of dog fouling.

Following further offences and a continued lack of engagement with the authority’s enforcement team, the decision was made to take the matter to court.

Councillor Mohammed Rafique, Leeds City Council's executive member for climate, energy, environment and green space, said: “Not picking up after a pet that fouls in a public area is completely irresponsible and inexcusable.

"Whilst we never want to have to resort to such measures, any dog owner who behaves in such a way can be assured that a fine will be issued if there is clear evidence they have broken the law.

“If a FPN is given, people should also be aware that we will take further action through the courts if the payment of a fine is ignored. As was the case here, this could result in a much larger financial penalty than what you have had to pay through a FPN.”