UP to £9,000 – which should be spent on facilities for the people of Lydney – will go to meet the cost of a new fence to protect youngsters from irresponsible dog owners.

Some 300 metres of fencing will be erected on part of the Lydney Recreation Ground to ensure the area where young players from Lydney rugby club train is dog mess-free.

Years of polite requests and a number of confrontations with dog owners who let their pets foul the pitch have been frustrated by a small number of irresponsible owners.

The fence will be paid for by the Lydney Recreation Trust which is responsible for some 80 acres of public space in the town.

Gareth Williams, the coach of the Lydney under-14s side, said the fence was a last resort to protect young players.

He said: “I’ve been coach for seven years and we’ve always had a problem with dog mess.

“It’s about the safety of the children, you don’t want them getting dog mess on themselves.

“We’ve had arguments with people about it – it is really reckless and irresponsible – but it carries on.

“We had a festival of rugby with teams from around Gloucestershire and we did a sweep of the area in the morning.

“But 20 minutes in the game had to be stopped because of dog mess. That is embarrassing for us and for the town.”

Rugby is hugely popular with more than 100 youngsters from the age of six regularly taking part in the sport.

There are concerns that parents may withdraw their children because of health fears.

Chairman of the Lydney Recreation Trust, Cllr Derek Biddle, said: “Dog mess is a serious issue and we have to take this action because of irresponsible owners.

“The trust has 80 acres of land around Lydney and there are plenty of areas which are suitable for dog walking.

“Since the football club has had a fence, it has not had a problem with dog mess.”

President of Lydney RFC, Derek Pomeroy, said the club was grateful for the investment being made by the trust.

He said: “It’s a shame that money is having to be spent because of the actions of a small number of irresponsible owners but something had to be done.”