TOUGH new rules banning dogs from 117 locations across Wirral will be enforced by controversial litter squad Kingdom.

The tough new rules, if approved by the council’s committee and cabinet, would come into force from April 1, meaning dogs being banned from cemeteries, playgrounds and picnic areas across the borough.

The initiative will also require owners to carry poo bags and limit the number of pets that can be walked by a single person.

It was created after the authority decided to clamp down on dog fouling and incidents in the borough.

And since Kingdom, which enforces offences like dog fouling and littering already, was recently given a three-year extension to its environmental enforcement contract last year, its officers will be tasked with applying the new Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO).

Kingdom have something of a controversial reputation on Wirral, where they have been working with the council to hand out fines for littering and dog fouling.

There have been numerous allegations of officers harassing people and acting in an intimidating fashion. Earlier this week a video showed a Birkenhead grandmother being blocked and followed by litter squad members.

And last year, leaked messages were published between Kingdom officers on Wirral, in which they joked about ‘kicking kids in the head’ and revealed the true scale of the target-driven culture of their work.

The document to be discussed by the special environment overview and scrutiny committee on January 15 advises that if the new rules are approved, the council will make arrangements for the PSPOs to be enforced through a revision of the enforcement contract from April 1 onwards.

It discussed why the measures are to be introduced, also revealing how successful Kingdom had already been at enforcing dog fouling.

The report said: “Concern about dog fouling and its effect in the community appears to have strengthened over recent years, with more people stating dog fouling is a problem than the position in 2015 – 54% in 2015 – through the Council’s first residents survey.

“This is despite the Council enhancing and increasing enforcement action against dog owners who fail to pick up after their dog, by including it in the first Environmental Enforcement Contract via variation in 2016.

“Since dog fouling enforcement became part of the Environmental Enforcement Contract, over 500 fixed penalty notices have been issued across the borough for dog fouling offences.”

It added that asking Kingdom to enforce the measures will not set out any additional costs – other than for the time taken to liaise with the contractor and manage the contract.