Hundreds of bags of dog poo have been found alongside a footpath near to a school - and the man who cleared them up suspects there may be a single culprit.

Parish council chairman Tim Prater set about clearing up the mess by Coolinge Lane in Sandgate, near Folkestone, after being tipped off about it online, and says he discovered an astonishing 210 parcelled-up poops in little more than 30 minutes.

Raging about the selfishness who those who leave the mess behind, he said he reckons just one dog owner could be responsible for almost every bag of excrement.

"In a little over 30 minutes, I picked up and have now removed and disposed of 210 black bags of dog mess," Cllr Prater said, who is also a district councillor.

"I didn't get every one certainly, but most of them I hope.

"I'll place a bet, they are almost all from the same person. Same bags. Same tying. Without wishing to be too detailed, similar filling.

"So one person has thoughtfully picked up after their dog into a bag, then slung it over a fence. 210 times.

"To that person: grow up. Take it home. Almost everyone else does - what makes you special?"

Cllr Prater says he will now be lobbying Folkestone and Hythe District Council (FHDC) for more waste receptacles to be installed on Coolinge Lane.

He said: "It is a road with two schools and there are few bins in the area, as others have pointed out.

"But almost everyone else is dealing with their litter and their dogs waste properly."

It comes after a KentOnline investigation revealed the paucity of fines for dog fouling in many parts of the county.

In the period since 2020, FHDC received 419 complaints over canine mess, but issued just eight fines.

Folkestone litter-pick organiser Jon O’Connor responded to the findings by saying the volume of dog poo in the town is an "absolute turn-off" to visitors.

"You come down, you have a nice day out, and you've got muck on your shoe," he said.

"If I walk five minutes from my house to the town centre there's a fair chance I'll see six or seven piles people have left behind because they can’t be bothered."