A dog owner has been handed a bill for £570 after letting his Staffordshire Bull Terrier into the children’s play area at Pencester Gardens.

Brandan Kent, 34, of no fixed abode, was found guilty in his absence of 12 separate breaches of a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO).

He failed to pick up after his dog, put his dog on a lead and failed to prevent the canine from entering the enclosed play area.

The prosecution was brought by Dover District Council (DDC) and heard at Canterbury Magistrates Court on Tuesday, May 3.

Magistrates imposed a £120 fine for not keeping the dog on a lead on nine occasions between October 28 and January 14, 2016, another £120 for dog fouling on January 8 and January 14, 2016, and £160 for letting the pet enter an excluded area on December 17, 2015.

Paul Neagle, DDC environmental protection manager, said: “On 27 July 2015, a Public Spaces Protection Order came into force across the Dover district regarding dog control, including Pencester Gardens. The order is to prevent activities that are or may be detrimental to the local community’s quality of life. The order is for the benefit of everyone, and we will not hesitate to take enforcement action wherever appropriate.”

Mr Kent was also ordered to pay costs of £150 and a £20 victim surcharge.

The breaches of the PSPO were all captured on DDC’s CCTV system and exhibited to the court, apart from the incident on October 28, which was witnessed by a Police Community Support Officer.

On November 9, 2015, Mr Kent was served with a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) by a DDC Environmental Enforcement Officer, for having his dog off the lead in Pencester Gardens.

Mr Kent refused to accept the FPN but a man with Mr Kent took it on his behalf. Another person in the group was seen on CCTV to tear the notice into pieces, and later that day Mr Kent was seen on CCTV to leave the area with his dog still off the lead.