A SHOPKEEPER has taken action to combat “lazy” dog owners who don’t pick-up their pooch’s poo by inventing her own make-shift poo bag dispenser.

Heather Maas, 59, of Frinton, owns and manages ironing and laundry shop Full Steam Ahead in Walton High Street.

She has grown frustrated with the volume of dog excrement being left outside both her shop and along the town centre pavements, so has taken decisive steps to curb the messy issue.

The contraption is made out of an empty two litre bottle of lemonade which has been filled with dog poo bags and attached to a lamppost.

A small hole in the bottle means dog walkers looking to address an emergency toilet break can easily pull out a bag.

Ms Maas said: “We have a real problem on the high street with dogs pooing and their owners just leaving it.

“But then this idea just came into my mind and from that moment I was a woman on a mission.

“It is such a simple idea, but I have already had so many people saying it is such a brilliant thing and applauding me for trying to help.” Ms Maas believes the only people to blame for the rise in littered dog poo - and the stain left on the town’s reputation - is those turning a blind eye to their dog’s mess.

But she has suggested the installation of bins similar to ones along seafronts might help encourage people to dispose of their tail-waggers’ waste more hygienically.

She said: “The dog poo makes the town look scummy but I am trying to make it look better and get more shop owners involved.

“It is the lazy dog owners that should be held responsible and they should be fined.

“But there could be more bins in the High Street specifically for dog poo like the ones along the seafront.

“It is a big problem because we have a lot of people who are disabled or blind in the town and they can’t see it.”