A BOLTON woman is calling on the council to start employing "people wardens" as well as dog wardens.

Dog lover Marlene Butterfield, of Hatfield Road, Halliwell, says people - particularly unsupervised children - create far more mess in Bolton's parks and open spaces than any dog.

She said: "I know that roaming dogs are a nuisance, but at least when they make a mess on the grass they are only doing what comes naturally.

"Most of Bolton's parks are now a total disgrace because of what people have done. They are full of litter, graffiti and broken glass.

"You often see very young children alone in the parks running wild and without any adults in sight to protect them. What we need are people wardens to control things."

Mrs Butterfield said one of the worst examples was a park near her own home where she regularly found injection needles, beer cans, and broken glass.

The final straw came recently when vandals used bolt cutters to chop down the children's swings.

She said: "I have three dogs and I try to be a responsible owner but when you look at the state of our parks it's obvious that people need controlling more than dogs."

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