THE way dog wardens go about their work is to be re-examined amid complaints from pet owners who say they have been frightened by a plain clothes official.

A workshop will examine Richmondshire District Council's dog warden contract following claims by women that they have been scared by a warden when he approached them in lonely areas. Other owners say he has unfairly handed out one-the-spot fines for fouling.

The council has defended the contractors, Animal Wardens Limited, saying dog wardens were fully-trained in how to approach people.

But the environment and planning committee agreed on Tuesday to organise a session to look at training and the contract, up for renewal next year.

Dog owner Coun Jill McMullon said it could be unnerving for a woman to have a man following her in a lonely location.

Coun Tony Pelton, who raised the issue at the committee, asked: "Why are women in lonely places being approached by a man in plain clothes acting on behalf of our council?"

Environmental health officer Sean Little said the contractors were very conscious of the issue of approaching women and it formed part of the training wardens received.

There was no legal requirement for a dog warden to wear a uniform and some surveillance was undertaken in plain clothes and in a private vehicle.

"If wardens are in uniform and their vehicle is visible, people's behaviour patterns change," he said. "For that reason, some surveillance is undertaken in plain clothes."

Wardens carried and produced identification, he said, adding that the warden had "a different version of events" from that given by complainants.

"It is not true that the dog warden hid in bushes; they have full training as to how to carry out their job," he said.

The two previous Richmondshire dog wardens had been female, but the council was not allowed to discriminate over the gender of employees or contractors.

Coun Clive World said people should be encouraged to clean up after their pet by the warden rather than being subjected to covert surveillance.

The meeting heard that a target of two fixed penalty notices a month had been set by the council - reduced from five a month, which was considered too high in a predominantly rural area.

Coun Jim Fryer said the authority must deal with the dog fouling problem, which was the subject of many complaints by members of the public.