Swale council has placed dog-bag dispensers in a number locations in a trial scheme aimed at combating the problem of mess.

Five TiksPac stations, developed by a Scandinavian company, have so far been placed in parks and roads where there are problems with owners not cleaning up after their pets.

The trial areas are: The Leas, Minster; Bartons Point Country Park, Sheerness; Milton Creek Country Park; the park near the Jenny Wren pub in Staplehurst Road, Sittingbourne and Oare Gunpowder Works car park near Faversham.

The council is one of the first local authorities in the country to adopt the scheme, which it hopes will make the borough more attractive to visitors as well as residents.

The three-month trial comes just weeks after it was revealed by the Times Guardian that Swale council had fined only 16 people in three years for failing to clean up their dogs’ mess – despite receiving 157 tip-offs about the offence.

Officials hope that if the scheme is a success, it can be rolled-out across the borough, with business advertisements on each station paying for their installation and restocking.