'My dog was wrongly blamed for poo outside hotel but I've fought to clear his name'
A hotel owner in Blackpool has compared the town to 'the People's Republic of China' after receiving a council warning about dog poo.
Brendan O'Rourke, who runs Sunny Dee's Holiday Apartments on the Promenade, told LancsLive that he was given a 'mini ASBO' last August. He was accused of not cleaning up after his Doberman dog outside his home.
Brendan insists that the warning letter was based on 'false allegations'. He says his dog had been wrongly blamed for leaving mess in the alleyway behind his hotel.
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The letter was a Community Protection Warning (CPW) from Lancashire Constabulary, acting for Blackpool Council.
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This type of warning is given to anyone thought to be 'causing persistent detriment to the local area'. It comes before a decision is made to issue a Community Protection Notice (CPN), reports Lancashire Live.
Brendan believes he was given the warning because of a disagreement with a neighbour. A police officer came to his home to deliver the warning.
Inside the CPW were two 'complaints', according to Brendan. One was about the argument with the other resident and the second accused him of not picking up his dog's poo.
Brendan spoke passionately to LancsLive: "It absolutely infuriated me because I don't. I collect plastic off the beach. I even picked up three lots of poo that was on the beach last night because it irritates me as the tide was coming in."
Irate Brendan decided to stand his ground against the council mistake, insisting he wasn't the guilty party who left the poo.
He said: "The conditions attached are extremely overbearing, disproportionate and unreasonable in the circumstances. I did ask them '[are we] living in the People's Republic of China, Russia or indeed the Totalitarian Borough of Blackpool?'"
Brendan asserts that Blackpool Council gave out the CPW 'without any investigation themselves' or guidance from other sources.
Labelling it a 'miscarriage of justice', he called out potential similar warnings issued without proper proof.
A spokesperson from Blackpool Council explained that "the issues raised in Mr O' Rourke's complaint have been fully investigated and have led to the Community Protection Warning being revoked with immediate effectT.
"We have written back to him to apologise for the errors," they added.
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