A crackdown on dog fouling is to take place this month as Lambeth Council increases its war on irresponsible dog owners.

The council said dog owners who let their pets foul the borough’s streets and parks, and did not clear it up, were behaving as antisocially as fly-tippers and graffiti vandals.

Councillor Lorna Campbell, Lambeth Council’s cabinet member for the environment, said: “Dog fouling is a crime that costs taxpayers thousands of pounds a year in clean-up costs, damages our environment and puts people’s health at risk.”

Lambeth will be handing out poop scoop bags and issuing £50 fines to anyone caught letting their dog foul.

Environmental enforcement officers take to the street this month as part of campaign group Keep Britain Tidy’s Bag it and Bin it appeal.

The council warned owners they faced a £50 fixed penalty notice if caught, but, if prosecuted in court, they faced up to a £1,000 fine.

Health risks posed by dog faeces were highlighted last month when two-year-old Aimee Langdon needed hospital treatment and almost lost her eye because of an infection contracted from dog mess left in a playground.