Way back in 2019 we were all allowed to use our recreational fields for sport, dog-walking, whatever. Then came the 2020 Dog Control Act, then the white lines around the 16 fields across Plymouth where there were pitches.

That was when when the fines and bullying began. With little or no announcement of the change, Plymouth City Council started scaring people off their local fields by threatening them with the police if they did not give their name, address, date of birth and email address. The offence was that their dog had crossed the new white line while being off-lead. The wardens had taken his photo as evidence of the offence.

This odious policy of intimidation is supposedly to keep the sports pitches cleaner than they would be without the white lines.

I see no difference in cleanliness at Dean Cross in Plymstock. But there is more litter, as the old litter-pickers (dog owners) want nothing to do with this new regime of getting rid of dogs so that the 1% of the population can have the fields to themselves for the few weeks in the year when they play.

To me, the disproportionate zeal of the council in fining and intimidating us since the white lines came in makes me think that perhaps their motivation is suspect. Remember how few fines they collected in 2019? A tiny percentage of what they collect now since the white lines have been painted on. Now they collect big time, and very, very few fines are for people not picking up poo. Just dogs crossing white lines on sports pitches.

The councils gets rich and the sports clubs get a more select environment. Not so doggy.

But then I notice from council plans that the sports club here at Deans Cross rents a part of the land, not all. The Forresters field is not rented to the club. Yet it still has white lines around it.

So when is a sports pitch not a sports pitch??

When is public land going to be given back to the public and not divided up to the disadvantage of the majority users? Why can’t the sports club accept the same standards of hygiene as the rest of us? The toddlers and youngsters deserve at least as much cleanliness as the footballers, who do not even use the fields year round.