BBC 'dog dirt' experiment condemned

A BBC television programme featuring an experiment involving 20 dogs fouling a residential street in Lancashire has been condemned by a council leader.

On The Street That Cut Everything, programme producers used the dog dirt stunt to illustrate what life could be like if council services were severely cut back.

However, Preston Council's Conservative leader Ken Hudson questioned whether the experiment was a suitable way to spend the television licence fee.

"I don't think that putting 20 dogs on a street to make sure that the street gets fouled by dog droppings is good television really," Hudson said.

"We know that the people of the street are a really caring community and I am not sure that they knew just what they were letting themselves in for. I am not sure whether they expected to be picking up dog dirt."

For the programme, presented by BBC political editor Nick Robinson, residents in the street agreed to go without key council services, such as refuse collection, street cleaning and street lighting.

Conservative MP Stephen Hammond said that he was "absolutely appalled" by the idea and confirmed plans to submit a complaint to media regulator Ofcom.

Hammond said: "This is an outrageous piece of scaremongering by the BBC and compromises their editorial integrity. We need a full and frank explanation from the organisation about how and why this is a good use of taxpayers' cash. I shall be reporting them to Ofcom for what, quite frankly, is an unforgivable breach of editorial standards."

A BBC spokesman defended The Street That Cut Everything, arguing that it will explore how communities face up to the "choices involved in living in an era of cuts".

He added: "The filming of the dog walking scene demonstrates in exaggerated form one of the challenges residents would face if street cleaning services were cut. The residents rose to the challenge and cleaned up the small amount of dog foul extremely quickly."