Worst dog fouling regions across England

Thousands of dog fouling complaints were made in England last year – yet in many areas, not a single fine was issued. 

Data compiled by pet insurance experts at Quotezone.co.uk reveals the English counties with the highest numbers of dog fouling complaints between March 2024 and March 2025 – including how many Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) were issued. 

The data was gathered through Freedom of Information (FOI) requests sent to 296 councils across England – including unitary authorities, district councils, metropolitan districts, and London boroughs – with 253 councils responding. 

London leads the way with the most dog fouling complaints made over the 12-month period, with a total of 13,116 reports submitted to various borough councils.  However, when the results are weighted per population, Shopshire had the highest number of complaints per 100,000 people at 498.

Table of top 10 problem areas in England, ranked by most complaints per 100,000 people.

Despite receiving the highest number of complaints, both Shropshire and Northumberland were the lowest regions for penalties in the top 10, handing out just 5 FPNs in a year.

Taking third spot for the most dog fouling complaints was Tyne and Wear with 2,778 –  that’s 246 per 100,000 people.

Councils in Lancashire distributed the largest number of fines – with 164 in total – while the average number of annual fines handed out amongst the top 10 was just 51 per region.

At the other end of the scale, England’s smallest county, Rutland, could lay claim to being England’s cleanest  – thanks to zero dog mess complaints. 

Dog fouling is a prevailing problem for many local authorities, and there are estimated to be more than 8 million dogs producing more than 1,000 tonnes of waste every day in the UK alone.

Helen Rolph, pet insurance expert at Quotezone said: “It’s clear from our data that dog fouling presents a huge problem across England, and there’s a worrying gap between the number of complaints made and fines issued. 

“It’s not just about keeping our streets clean either. Dog mess can be dangerous, especially for children, as it carries harmful parasites, bacteria and viruses that can even cause blindness.

“It can also be harmful to other dogs if ingested, so it’s important to protect them with pet insurance – it can give pet owners peace of mind, and cover the cost of quality care should they become unwell.”

Quotezone can help animal lovers compare and find savings on all sorts of pet insurance.

References
*https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/faqs/advice/dog-fouling-and-law 
**https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counties_in_England_by_population

Data was sourced from FOI’s across 253 councils in England during July 2025.

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