Corkonians are not alone in their fight against abandoned turds. All over the world, dog fouling is consistently cited as a public concern, writes KATHRIONA DEVEREUX.

95 per cent of those surveyed by the Irish Blue Cross said they think dog fouling is an issue in their local area.

The scheme would work by taking a DNA swab from dogs at the point of microchipping.

With more than 200 people playing and training on the pitch, players were constantly stepping in the mess left behind by dogs.

Cork City Council had not issued a single fine for such an offence in the first 10 months of this year.

Patrick Costello is calling for a ten-fold increase in dog fouling fines – increasing the penalty from €150 to €1,500.