£100 fine if you ignore Morecambe beaches dog ban

Dogs are excluded from Morecambe South and North beaches every year from May 1 until September 30 to comply with the Seaside Award.

The awards recognise beaches in England that achieve the highest standards of beach management.

Restricting dogs during the summer months helps to maintain the water quality of the two beaches during their busiest period.

Offenders will be issued with a fixed penalty notice of £100 to be paid within 14 days.

This is reduced to £65 if paid within seven days.

If a penalty notice is not paid, the city council may prosecute the offender in the Magistrates Court.

The maximum fine on summary conviction is level 3 on the standard scale – currently £1,000.

Dogs must also be kept on a lead on the promenade and in spaces such as the adjacent gardens and Sunny Slopes.

Dogs are still welcome on other sections of shoreline either side of the two bathing beaches.

This includes the Battery all the way to Heysham and the Green Street breakwater to Hest Bank.

You can report offenders by contacting the Dog Wardens on 01524 582935.

More information on the dog beach ban can be found at www.lancaster.gov.uk/dogwardens

Keep Britain Tidy chief executive, Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, said: "From environmental education for the local community and ensuring responsible beach use, to cleaning regimes and an increasing number of recycling facilities, it is a full-time commitment to create beaches worthy of these awards.”