Glow-in-the-dark posters to humiliate dog owners across the UK

File photo dated 30/12/2013 of a dog being walked, as a new dog fouling campaign is being launched, aimed at owners who are failing to scoop the poop. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Monday November 24, 2014. More than 20 councils have joined Keep Britain Tidy in the drive which is particularly targeting dog walkers who allow their pets to foul at night. See PA story ENVIRONMENT PoopScoop. Photo credit should read: Yui Mok/PA Wire

A new war against dog fouling is being waged across the UK, with sinister glow-in-the-dark posters being put up with the words: "We're watching you" in hundreds of popular dog walking areas.

In an attempt to humiliate owners who leave their pets' faeces in the British countryside and in cities on paths, fields and parks, the poster shows a pair of illuminated human eyes staring directly out.

Keep Britain Tidy has launched the campaign because it says dog fouling increases during the winter, when more dog walks are conducted in the dark. It said that owners use the cover of darkness to ignore the mess, or hang their litter bags on fence posts.

More than 20 councils will erect posters in key problem areas, with staff monitoring the number of offenders closely. The posters charge up during daylight hours so that they glow at night.

The campaign follows a successful pilot funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which saw an average reduction of 46 per cent in levels of dog fouling.

Keep Britain Tidy chief executive Phil Barton said: "We are delighted local authorities and land managers from across the country have signed up and are joining with us on this campaign.

"Our most recent research tells us that people see dog fouling as, by far, the most unacceptable and dirtiest type of litter, and the biggest concern in environmental quality. With more than five million dogs in England producing nearly 600,000 tonnes of waste each year, these concerns are understandable."