A BOLTON school has taken the lead in eliminating an increasing problem with dog fouling in the area.

St Columba’s RC Primary School, in Tonge Moor, launched a poster competition, encouraging youngsters to produce a bold statement to be displayed outside the school.

Megan Higgins, aged 10, was declared the winner, with her design now up on the school gates and up and down Ripley Street.

Office administrator Tracy Boardman said: “We’ve been having a lot of problems with dog fouling outside the school, and we wanted to make a statement to dog owners in the area.

“We’re trying to let them know that it’s affecting the children, and that it’s so easy to just bag it and bin it.”