Dog owners could soon face fines of up to £1,000 for allowing their dogs to foul in public places.

Council bosses will write to the Government to recommend the maximum fixed penalty notices be increased.

The motion, brought to Hyndburn full council by Labour councillor Ken Moss, was carried.

Coun Moss told the meeting: "We have had an increasing number of complaints about dog fouling in Rishton and it is being dealt with by the dog warden and cleansing department.

"It’s trying to give people a stronger incentive that if you are to get caught allowing your dog to foul there’s quite a substantial penalty involved.

"I am not in any way proposing this will solve the problem, but we need to look at every possible deterrent."

Currently the maximum on-the-spot fine is £75, reduced to £50 for early payment.

Deputy leader Coun Clare Pritchard said she would urge PCSOs to issue dog fouling fines as the chances of the dog warden being in a specific place at a specific time were ‘almost impossible’.

She added: "A fixed penalty notice of £1,000 is probably a little bit unrealistic but I will support the motion."

Coun Peter Clarke felt the proposals would be unworkable.

He said: "It’s very rare for an offender to get £1,000 through the court so they’re not going to pay it are they?

"They are going to take their chances through the court, defer payment and the fine will be nowhere near £1,000.

"So it’s a non-starter. The council would not receive the receipt for the fixed penalty notice because the person would go to court and then the court would get the funding."

Coun Tim O’Kane queried technicalities of the enforcement, asking: "What happens if the person walking the dog is a 10-year-old child. I think it’s disgraceful not picking up dog faeces. But how long does it have to be left before it is actually deemed to have been left?"

Coun Gareth Molineux said the motion was quite dear to his heart as his own puppy had died after picking up a disease from running over dog faeces.

Coun Molineux claimed that in 2008, out of 252 service requests, only 19 people were fined £75. Of the two who didn’t pay they received fines of £100 and £175 respectively.

He said: "That isn’t a deterrent. It’s an absolutely abysmal thing to do."