I live and run a shop and a holiday cottage in Budleigh Salterton. We have three young children and whenever we go for a walk along the seafront or into town, we come home stressed and angry because of the dog mess. We have not walked along the river pa

I live and run a shop and a holiday cottage in Budleigh Salterton. We have three young children and whenever we go for a walk along the seafront or into town, we come home stressed and angry because of the dog mess. We have not walked along the river path for a number of years because it is disgusting, weekends being the worst. There is no area of grass where the children can play safely, no path or pavement is pleasant to walk along, even the pebbles on the beach are littered with dog mess. On one recent Sunday there was dog mess within the fences of the children's play area. As for looking at the view, we are too busy watching the ground, shouting "off the grass", "mind that dog mess" and protecting our children from loose dogs to notice it. We are fed up with watching dogs relieving themselves on absolutely everything right in front of us. Over Christmas, in an attempt to find somewhere nice to take the children, I made the mistake of taking a trip to Woodbury Common. We began to follow a path from the car park, but had to turn back immediately because of the dog mess. Once back at the car, I attempted to clean the mess from my four-year-old's trainers, but was unable to do so and had to return home in order to get cleaned up. The dog mess is offensive and we are embarrassed by the place we live. A complete dog ban would be a dream come true.Name and address withheld.(via email)