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Dog owners across the Staffordshire Moorlands are set to face restrictions as new measures are to be introduced.

A public space protection order (PSPO) is set to be introduced later this month, with breaches potentially resulting in a £100 fine.

The measures, which will cover the whole of the Moorlands, mean that dogs will be banned from any children's play area, sports facility, multiuse games area, recreational facilities, skate park, tennis courts, basketball courts, bowling greens, putting greens and marked sports and athletics surfaces.

Additionally, dogs will need to be kept on leads in cemeteries, allotments, public gardens, car parks and within five metres of a sports pitch or athletics track.

The order will also require owners to pick up and dispose of dog faeces.

Now leaders at Staffordshire Moorlands District Council have signed off on plans to introduce the PSPO after agreeing that the activities carried out in public places have had or are likely to have a detrimental effect on the quality of life for residents.

This follows a public consultation carried out between July and August on whether to introduce the measure.

In total, just 34 responses were received, with 28 supporting or strongly supporting action being taken.

The consultation identified dog fouling as a main concern. The consultation found that 91 per cent of respondents said they had witnessed dog fouling within the past 12 months, with the same number saying enforcement action was important or very important.

Since 2023, Staffordshire Moorlands District Council have received 533 dog fouling reports from residents. During that time, only four fixed penalty notices were issued, all of which were in 2023/24.

The council says that enforcement is the last option and education and engagement will be prioritised.

A report to council leaders adds that enforcement activity will continue to be intelligence-led and targeted towards problem locations.

Councillor Linda Malyon, chairman of Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, said: "I welcome this report, but it is about education, it's about education of the owners. It's not just about people and children, it's about livestock.

"People pick it up and put it on branches, leave it in fields. When these are left on branches in plastic bags it kills calves; it has a detrimental effect on animals.

"So people don't think and it's not the dog, it's the people and they really do need to think about it.

"You go up a footpath or anywhere and there's dog faeces, it's not nice and it's not nice when children get it in their eyes and they can be blinded."

The PSPO is set to come into force on 19 October and will remain in force for three years. If a person fails to comply with the order without a reasonable excuse, a fixed penalty notice could be issued.

The fine will be £100, reduced to £75, if paid within 10 days.

Council leader Mike Gledhill said: "This report exists for a number of purposes. The first one is to ensure whatever the council does in terms of that perennial problem of dog fouling to ensure that the council has appropriate powers to deal with it and in order to do that there has to be a report of this order.

"It's great that so many voluntary groups do this, it's great that there has been a number of councillor initiatives in key areas of the Moorlands that have seen a real real benefit of local action to improve the situation.

"The point of this paper is to make sure that the council itself has appropriate powers to deal with it."