Blessed are the pooper scoopers.

That's the new 11th commandment, at least according to Kent artist Annie Taylor.

She and her neighbours are so fed up with dog mess plaguing their Whitstable street that she has adorned a figure of Jesus - with a poo bag.

A poster alongside the four-ft statue in the window of Whitstable Gallery reads: "Blessed are those who clean up after their dogs. For the people of Whitstable will love them."

Annie, who works part-time at the gallery, said: "The figure of Jesus has been in my window since just before Christmas and I have been decorating him on various themes.

"But the problem of dog mess in Regent Street is so horrendous that I decided he could help try to get the message across."

Annie, who lives with her partner Allen, a restoration engineer, added: "We have tried to get people to clear up and have tried various things such as posters and drawing chalk circles around the mess.

"For a while it helped but then got worse again in the winter with the dark evenings. It is so bad it is impossible to walk around these streets at night. You are constantly treading in it and it is absolutely awful.

"The postman has commented on it, it gets on prams and pushchairs and lots of mothers walk their children to school along here.

"Someone further along my road has a poster in their window saying there's no dog poo fairy, pick it up. Some owners are good but others are terrible and don't bother to clear up the mess and we have had enough."

Annie's figure of Jesus has previously been adorned with fairy lights for Christmas, accompanied by a copy of Allen Carr's book on stopping smoking when he made his New Year resolution, by a cigarette when he broke it and then by Annie's old Sindy dolls when he celebrated International Women's Day on March 8.

Just before joining the dog mess campaign, the statue marked St Patrick's Day on Saturday with a leprechaun and shamrock.

Annie, who has lived in Whitstable for just over six years, said: "I have had the figure for ages. He came from a church and was thrown out when his hand was broken. I thought that was rather sad.

"I acquired him from my brother and I keep meaning to fix his hand but haven't got around to it yet."

Since the figure featured in Annie's window, people have contaced her with suggestions for other occasions which he could mark, including international tuba day on May 4.

"It is a bit of fun and has given a lot of people a huge amount of entertainment," she said. "I haven't met anyone who has taken offence and so for the time being I intend to carry on."