DOG walkers are to be offered information and advice in an effort to get them to clean up after their pets at a nature reserve.

Leigh Town Council will set up an “information gazebo” on Two Tree Island to try to tackle the ongoing problem of dog walkers allowing their pets to foul without picking it up.

The idea will be trialled on a Saturday in September, but vice chairman of the council, Carole Mulroney, admitted the authority was running out of ideas on how to tackle the stubborn problem.

She said: “It’s a perennial problem and, whatever we do, we don’t seem to be able to get the message through.

“We think this is a golden opportunity to have a vet there who understands the dangers of it and can give advice on how to handle dogs – but we almost feel as though we are running out of ideas.

“I get quite a lot of complaints about Two Tree Island, so it seems an appropriate place to start, and several members of the council have said if it works up there, we could take it somewhere else.”

Robert Martyr, of Southend Beachcare, regularly conducts litter picks on Two Tree Island and said dog fouling in the area was a big problem. He said: “I have definitely noticed a dog faeces problem on Two Tree Island – it seems as though it’s just a free-for-all for dog walkers – almost like a dog toilet.

“One of my biggest bugbears is people cannot be bothered to put it in a bag and bin it, though there are some who go to the effort of bagging it up, but then throw it in a hedge.”

Voluntary warden Mark Bridges added: “It would be fair to say the problem is worst about 150m from the entrance gates, which is ironically the nearest part to the dog bins because they have to be within 30m of the main road for the contractor to empty them.”

A report prepared by the town council said “much of the problem is related to the availability of dog bins,” which are regulated by Southend Council, and the authority said it was awaiting a response from the borough.