CONSERVATIONISTS have hit out at walkers who are littering the countryside with plastic bags of dog mess.

Dog walkers are wrapping it in non-biodegradable plastic bags but failing to dispose of them properly.

They are being discovered in trees and bushes, in cracks and crevices and washed up on beaches having been thrown in the sea.

“It is a relatively new problem and appears to affect our rural and coastal areas more and more,” said Steve Trewhella, Purbeck conservationist and marine photographer. “The act of letting your dog go on the pavement has now become unacceptable and members of the public will speak out if dog owners allow this to happen.

“This has led to cleaner streets on the whole, which is a real success story.

“The problems start once you get out of the urban areas and into the rural and coastal parts of the county.

“You often see these bags hanging from tree branches along bridleways and footpaths and I have now begun to see alarming numbers of bags on our beaches, hidden in sand dunes, jammed into rock crevices and thrown into the sea only to wash up.”

He said: “The world’s seas and oceans are a dumping ground for plastics. In turn these are not only unsightly but a big threat to marine life.

“Plastic nappy bags full of dog poo are a new and rather disgusting addition to our growing plastic ocean.”

Sue Kinsey, litter policy officer for the Marine Conservation Society, which has just held its Beachwatch Big Weekend, said they had added a category on the forms to count faeces found in and out of bags.

In 2009 there were 913 bags of dog poo picked up from beaches and in 2010 volunteers collected 708. On most beaches there are bins. You might have to walk a couple of 100 metres but there are bins. In that case it’s just laziness,” she said.