DOG owners have been urged to "bag and bin" after discarded poo bags were found hanging on branches in Tiptree.

Walker Lynn Whitmore admitted being appalled after taking her whippet, Bramble, for a stroll in Pods Wood.

She was disgusted by the number of bags she found and says it is toxic, as well as deeply unpleasant.

"I was appalled by the sheer quantity of discarded dog poo bags," she said.

"People need to understand that dog poo is toxic in these quantities, not to mention hazardous.

"It's absolutely disgusting.

"If you come from Napiers Farm corner, there's a main path that goes through to the top of the wood.

"If you then turn right off that towards the pond, that's where this particular collection of doggy doo was hanging.

"There were intermittently other areas of hanging poos but that was the main one.

"The difficulty is that it's a private wood with no dog bins provided.

"Previously there used to be a large bag at the main entrance to the wood but I'm not sure if it's still there."

Fun and games - Bramble enjoying a walk in the woods

Fun and games - Bramble enjoying a walk in the woods

Mrs Whitmore, who lives in the village, says she always deposits her dog's waste in bins in Tiptree.

She posted details of her unpleasant experience on the Gazette's Camera Club Facebook page.

Other members admitted encountering the same problem.

Shiela Winwright said: "It’s exactly the same in High Woods Country Park, Colchester.

"What really annoys me is that people bag up the poo and then throw it up into the trees and bushes."

Mark Leitch added: "I see this in every woodland I walk in, unfortunately.

"I'd prefer to see it left on the floor unbagged than this.

"I've been a dog owner all my life and, as such, always bag and bin.

"It's shameful behaviour and should carry a massive fine, in my eyes."

Alice Harker said: "It's the same everywhere and those bags take 500 years to decompose!

"Some people are so lazy and carrying a filled bag a few hundred yards to a bin isn't going to kill anyone."