DOG owners in Oxford could be fined for walking too many dogs at the same time, as part of a package of new powers for councils.

Under the Government's Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act, which comes into force next week, councils will be able to hand out £75 fines for any littering offences, including dog fouling, fly-tipping and dropping rubbish, chewing gum or cigarette butts in the street. Failure to pay the fines could mean prosecution.

Anyone caught walking a large number of dogs in a prohibited area, such as a park, could also be fined.

Defra spokesman David Burrows was unable to specify how many dogs would be considered a problem, but said the move was mainly aimed at professional dog walkers who did not exercise proper control of their animals or clean up after them.

He said: "Some of them are trying to walk seven or eight dogs at the same time and we've got a problem there with trying to clean up their poo and secondly, if they're walking that many, they can't have control of their dogs.

"But it's entirely up to the local authority whether they want to enforce this."

Oxford City Council spokesman Louisa Dean said it had not decided whether enforcing fines on dog walkers would be necessary.

Jo Driver, of Pinnocks Way, Botley, owns four Chihuahuas, one mini-Dachshund, a German Shepherd and a Border Collie. She said it was unfair for dog walkers to be targeted because of the irresponsible behaviour of a minority.

She said: "I think if you've got a bunch of unruly dogs, I could consider that a bit of a problem and it does bring to light the issue of dog fouling on footpaths, which I find disgusting. But I don't feel it's right to put this across the board as there are a lot of responsible dog walkers out there who look after their dogs, get them trained and are good citizens."

Two full-time environmental enforcement officers will be recruited to enforce the penalties. They will patrol the city centre, where CCTV cameras will also be used to catch offenders.

Sharon Cosgrove, pictured, the council's strategic director for physical environment, said: "The city council invests significant sums in cleaning up roads and open land and these new powers will give us an opportunity to deal with this poor behaviour. The recent strike day showed how much litter my team has to clear up each day and ultimately this means an unnecessary cost for Oxford's tax payer.

"We need to educate people and take action against persistent offenders."