The sea of flags in our pictures at Hollow Way Recreation Ground depicting the mess left behind by dogs is a shocking revelation of the extent of the problem.

In just a 20 metre area we found 21 piles of dog mess during a quick spotcheck.

But the true animals are not the creatures merely answering the call of nature. They are the owners who do not clear up after their pets.

This is not a new problem and this is not the first time we have condemned owners and implored them to start showing some social responsibility.

As one owner tells us, she pays £1 for 99 plastic bags so she can clear up mess, yet for those legions of the feckless this is too much effort.

But apart from the odd bit of social disapproval, most of these owners know they can act – or more correctly not act – with impunity.

Only two owners have been given on-the-spot fines for dog fouling in the past five years.

It is not good enough.

We know policing the problem is not simple but surely any sort of effort would have caught more than two owners. We support the city council in its Cleaner, Greener Oxford campaign but this is one area where more enforcement is needed.