AN unknown South Brent resident has been going to heroic lengths to flag up a very unpleasant problem.

In recent weeks home-made flags attached to lollipop sticks have begun to appear, stuck into some of the piles of dog mess that inconsiderate pet owners have failed to pick up in the town.

Parish councillor Jane Maunder informed the council of the actions of the anonymous but civic-minded resident at their meeting on Monday, August 19. She said the flags carried messages such as ‘disgusting’ and ‘you need to pick this up’.

She said the worst-affected areas were Courtenay Park, Totnes Road and Station Yard.

Speaking afterwards, she said: ‘It’s not me that’s putting the flags in, but it’s a bugbear of mine and I’m constantly bringing it up at the parish council.

‘Totnes Road is ­particularly bad, and it’s got the primary and preschools. Some days I’ve had to get a bag out of my pocket and pick it up from the front step of the school.

‘It’s disgusting that people think they can not pick up after their dog. We have the dog warden, but they’ve got to catch people actually letting their dogs do it.

‘I don’t have a ­problem with bringing it up over and over again. It’s disgusting.

‘If you have a dog, which I do, you should pick it up. It’s not the animal’s fault, it’s the fault of whoever owns the dogs.’