Dorking RFC has just launched a Clean Fields campaign to deter dog owners from letting their dogs foul on the club's pitches.

The Surrey club play at Big Field in Brockham on National Trust owned land from which dogs are prohibited. There are NT signs up at the entrances to the ground, which is also home to Brockham Bagders football club, but these have been ignored by many dog walkers.

The result has meant coaches and players having to mine-sweep pitches to remove offending turds.

Apart from being a disgusting job, dog faeces can be extremely harmful if it gets into a wound and with upwards of 500 Mini and Junior players using the rugby pitches, let alone the four senior sides and the football club, Dorking decided to take action.

National Newspaper cartoonist Scott Clissold was hired to produce a series of cartoons to highlight the anti-social nature of the problem, while tackling it with good humour rather than confronting offending dog owners.

The cartoons form part of the £1,000 laminated poster campaign. There are four different posters which will be used over an extended period of time to really concentrate minds of dog owners. The first of these cartoons is attached.

Local newspaper, radio and TV stations have been approached to encourage publicity.

Club chairman David Judd said: "It is a problem for us, like a great many other sports clubs. WE are not anti dog, far from it. Many of us are dog owners, but there are plenty of other places in the area to let the dog off the lead without problem. But letting a dog off on our pitches is unacceptable and we are determined to put a stop to it."

Dorking RFC will be happy to sell a campaign pack for use on other sports grounds - proceeds after costs will go towards the RSPCA.

Paul Mosley

Press Officer

Dorking RFC

07779 135866