The number one issue the citizens of Seaford want their council to deal with is dog shit. Or it used to be. The fact they are now slashing the entire youth service budget may have had an impact on priorities. Possibly not. But judicious use, or neglect, of plastic bags by dog owners has always been an issue in Lewes too. I remember years ago a lot of uncleared mess infuriated the good citizens of Southover. A few late night dog-walkers were the worst offenders, and if challenged, were aggressive about it. So some people I know started lurking on dark street corners and quietly following the badly-trained dog owners home. The address would be noted and reported to the council dog officer, who would go round a few days later to have a word. It was quite shocking to find out how well known one of the culprits was, but as I say, it was years ago, and scoop culture seems to have changed for the better since then. When I moved to the Pells a few years ago, I noticed that someone was sticking little flags into dog shit with the words ‘another inconsiderate dog owner’ on them. All of this came back to me when I heard of the ‘sprinkle brigade’ artists in New York, who turn piles of dog shit into amusing little works of pavement art, by adding multi-coloured sugar sprinkles, or making scenes with model animals, or adding ice-cream cones, spray-paint, or googly-eyes and a ‘wig’. The idea is that attention is drawn to the fact that mess is being left, and innocent passers-by are less likely to tread in it. Even so. Eugh!