Earlier this week, over on Facebook, Heswall Nub News opened a can of worms right next to the cat amongst the pigeons by drawing attention to the work of the Heswall resident who sprays coloured circles around dog faeces left on local pavements.

The response was very large and mostly very good natured, with some people pointing out that the lime green or orange circles had enabled them to dodge dung on several occasions; while others considered them graffiti and more irritating than the poop they mark.

It should be noted that the spray does seem to wash away completely after not too long, depending, not surprisingly, on the weather.

The debate provoked by the work of our local poop protester has proved timely. This week, Wirral's Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport Committee agreed to a new approach to tackling litter in general and dog fouling in particular across the borough.

Since the start of the first national lockdown, online reports of dog fouling have increased by 23%, and dog fouling has been highlighted as a major concern for residents.

The council currently uses a reporting tool to gather information on litter and dog fouling hot spot locations.

A campaign to promote this more widely will be launched with the aim of engaging with local residents, visitors and dog owners regarding litter and dog fouling.

Identified hot spot locations will be assessed initially to check what can be improved at the site – for example: the number of bins, their locations, emptying frequency, and the provision of dog poop bags.

Cllr. Liz Grey, Chair of the Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport Committee, said: "These are really important issues for our residents and we know that the vast majority of people do the right thing. They bin their litter and they pick up after their dogs. It is only a small minority who don't.

"We've listened to how residents want us to tackle this issue and as well as encouraging people to behave responsibly, we'll be looking at how we can take enforcement action against those who don't. In particular, we will take action against repeat offenders who blight our streets and ruin them for others.

"I want to continue to encourage people to report litter and dog fouling issues in their area through the council website so we can target our resources effectively".

If you see dog poop you can report it here.

For the time being at least, it seems drawing coloured circles around left behind poop is unlikely to become official council policy.