A councillor has hit back at claims Silsden is a “disgusting little town” due to the alleged amount of dog dirt and discarded condoms.
Town and district member Adrian Naylor said there was no evidence for the claims in an anonymous e-mail.
Coun Naylor, who serves on Bradford and Silsden councils, said Bradford Council workers regularly cleaned Silsden Park, where the man said he had found used condoms.
And he pointed out there is an ongoing campaign in Silsden to make dog walkers clean-up the mess left by their pets.
The writer, naming himself shameonsilsden, sent his e-mail to Silsden Town Council’s clerk and the Keighley News.
He said he and a companion had cycled from Skipton to Silsden during the August bank holiday weekend.
He wrote: “The first thing we were hit with was the dog mess on the towpath and below the bridge as we got into Silsden.”
The writer said he then went to Silsden Park, where the Silsdenbury Fest music festival was being held.
He added: “The biggest shock was in the toddlers’ play area and in between the safety matting below the swings, quite fresh, used condoms.
“We were left speechless and we left. You people are disgusting.”
Coun Naylor checked the canal towpath this week but could not find any dog mess, adding: “I walked a distance in either direction and there was nothing.
“If there was anything in the park it will have gone by now because there was a Bradford Council Clean Team cleaning up straight after the festival. It would’ve been a unique set of circumstances that night. There were 3,000 people in the park.”
Coun Naylor said he had never received complaints of condoms in the playground, and the park is not regarded by police as a trouble spot.
He added: “I’m a little cautious about an unknown person having a go. There’s no evidence to support it.
“Dog fouling is a problem anywhere, not just in Silsden, and we’ve started to engage with the whole community to make sure people are aware of their responsibility to clean up after their dogs.”
A spokesman for the Canal and River Trust, which looks after the Leeds-Liverpool Canal, said it would welcome talks about a possible dog litter bin on the towpath.
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