A RUGBY club is having to clear its field of dogs’ mess ahead of every fixture - despite the animals being banned from its grounds.

Gwernyfed Rugby Club is warning it will now report anyone found letting their dogs foul on its Trefecca Road ground to Powys County Council.

Chairman Robert Stephens said: "Dogs are not permitted to step foot on our grounds and never have been."

Mr Stephens said the club, which leases two rugby pitches from Powys County Council, has paid out £300 on new signs warning owners dogs are not allowed on the pitches or the nearby King George V playing fields.

Anyone in charge of a dog in Powys who lets it foul in a public area or playing fields can be hit with a £75 fixed penalty fine or be prosecuted through the courts by the county council.

Mr Stephens said club officials are having to inspect the fields before every game, including last Saturday’s first team fixture.

"We picked three lots of dogs’ mess up on Saturday and the concern is do we get it all?

"Sometimes players have had to go off during a game and change their shirt because they’ve landed in dog’s mess.

"We have a good pitch and we’ve got it in a good condition but we have to go around before every game doing this."

Dog fouling is a major health hazard and can cause infection toxocariasis in humans, which can cause blindness. Land can also be contaminated by dogs’ mess which carries the infection.

Children are usually most at risk from toxocariasis as they are more likely to come into contact with contaminated soil but people of all ages can be at be infected.

Mr Stephens said the club is concerned dog fouling is posing a risk to the 200 children from its club who play on its pitches on Sunday mornings with around as many visiting players too.

"It is upsetting for everyone. We’ve got 200 boys and girls playing rugby every Sunday and it just unfair people think it is a place to let their dogs out for the toilet. It’s a massive health risk."

He warned club officials will be keeping an eye on the fields looking for dog walkers: "We’re going to have to keep a vigil and are going to have to try and catch people and we will report them for prosecution.

"We’ve put the signs up and want to prevent people from letting their dogs out. Hopefully people will stop doing it."

The club has also reported the problem to its local Police Community Support Officers.

Sgt Adele Pitt, of Dyfed Powys Police’s neighbourhood policing team, said the police receives a lot of complaints around dog fouling: "We do our best to work with the council if we do witness anything and deal with it."

Powys council had ran a survey which closed at the end of January asking the public to identify problem areas for dog fouling.

The council said it would help it identify problem areas and allocate resources to combat the problem.

To report dog fouling email [email protected] or telephone 0845 602 7035 or 01597 827465.