dog owners who fail to clean up their act are facing a crack down.

And residents and businesses are being urged to "shop" offenders as part of the campaign to combat dog fouling in public places.

Posters are being distributed to every household in the Craven Council district asking people for their support, and they will be displayed in shop and office windows.

The council says culprits face fixed penalty fines of up to £1,000. Fifteen tickets have already been issued so far this year.

Ian Day, the council's interim head of operational services, said: "While dog fouling is not the problem it used to be, we are nevertheless taking a very proactive approach to enforcement.

"We have extended the hours of work of the dog warden service to offer a better response and the poster campaign represents the start of a sustained educational programme on these issues.

"We are targeting all public places across Craven, and both residents and visitors.

"There are some 170 poop-scoop dog bins in place in public areas throughout the district, so dog owners are well catered for in this respect.

"We have also carried out a consultation exercise with parish councils about the location of poop-scoop bins, with a view to installing additional bins to further enhance facilities."

Councillor Polly English, chairman of the dog control panel, said: "The majority of dog owners are responsible people -- it is the few who continually seem to flout the law that we are targeting with the new poster campaign.

"We hope that members of the public and businesses across the district will display the posters in their windows.

"It might just give the irresponsible dog-owning minority a timely wake-up call."

Tony Barrett, president of Skipton Chamber of Trade & Commerce, said: "We warmly welcome this council-led initiative to further enhance both the appearance and appeal of the district, and will certainly encourage members to display the posters."

Instances of dog fouling should be reported to the warden service on 01756 706203. Businesses willing to display posters should contact the same number.