IT is pleasing to see good citizens cleaning up after their dogs when they take them for walkies. Unfortunately, there are a great many extremely bad citizens who allow their pooches to mess up the pavements all over town.

This anti-social conduct seems to happen mostly under cover of darkness or in the wee/poo small hours of the morning.

Sickeningly, there is always plenty of evidence and there can be few pedestrians who walk along briskly with their heads held high in the air, appreciating the joys of nature.

The fear of stepping in something nasty leads instead to a steady, downcast gaze which makes happy people seem miserable. But I have noticed a variation on this theme. One phantom dog owner round our way takes a leaf out of the Beatles' song book and allows his/her pet to do it in the road.

Whilst this is better for pedestrians, I would not like to be around when such a pile of excrement causes an unlucky motorist to skid and crash.

All this comes to mind because Bolton Council is seeking to appoint an education and enforcement officer who will co-ordinate the fight against dog fouling, littering, graffiti and flyposting.

Hands up anybody who thinks this person will be able to do anything about the sizeable minority of Boltonians who, frankly, don't giveadamn?

Litter has been a local problem for decades and there have been countless well-meaning campaigns which might well have hit home here and there.

But, depressingly, there seems to be more rubbish around than ever.

Bolton town centre is kept reasonably clear, but you feel areas on the outskirts need a great deal of attention.

If you do not believe me, just have a look at the mess on the left of Bury New Road as you walk or drive along the stretch between the Church Bank subway and Folds Road.

It was also pretty grotty on Topp Way, I noticed the other day, between Higher Bridge Street and St Georges Road.

You fear that the Bolton clean-up champion will struggle to be effective unless he/she can call on the services of an armed "zero tolerance" hit squad with the authority to issue on-the-spot assassinations or knee-cappings.

Fly posting for various clubs and attractions is frowned upon greatly, yet nothing seems to stop it.

I find it very difficult to get my head round the logic of the council plastering several official posters on boarded-up shops threatening dire consequences for anybody else who does the same.

Maybe the answer to producing model members of society is in the controversial "points mean prizes" scheme in operation at Langdon secondary school in east London.

Pupils who avoid truancy, take more exercise and forget fast food get vouchers to buy CDs, trips to tourist attractions and tickets to Premiership football matches.

The £250,000 pilot project -- funded by Labour-run Newham Council -- seems to be working and hopes are high that some of these kids will avoid crime, get better results and have a better chance in life.

Could the price be right?