I would like to reply to Mr Sanders and ask if he thinks I'm whingeing.

To date, since the ban came into place, it has cost me approximately £800 in vets fees.

Reason: I can no longer exercise my dog on the beach.

The only areas I can exercise my dog fully is open grassland and fields.

Just a couple of weeks after the ban was imposed I noticed problems with my dog.

After an operation to clean out her ears failed to diagnose the problem blood tests were taken to see if she had any allergies.

It turned out hay mites and four types of pollen are the main instigators.

My dog's problem will never go away but without being allowed to exercise her in a grassless area nor will it subside.

My dog is not the only one to have been affected - there are many more in the village.

I can already here the readers saying "There are other beaches!" Yes, I agree there are other beaches in Wansbeck but not being a driver I cannot access said beaches.

And as far as the East Sea Sands are concerned the accessibility problems, which were highlighted to the council through a DVD, make this a no-go area for a lot of people.

It's certainly not somewhere I'd like to go on my own because as a woman I felt vulnerable down there as no one can actually see that you are there.

I've said it before and I will say it again, we weren't asking for the world all we were asking for was a compromise but Wansbeck Council wouldn't listen.

I wonder how they would react if all us dog owners, whose dogs have been affected, put in a compensation claim for the vets fees?

MS LINDA E SPOWART
Newbiggin by the Sea

PS: Wansbeck Council get it wrong again!

A leaflet advertising Heritage Open Days in Wansbeck has been delivered around the district. The photo on the front of this leaflet shows a coble on the beach in front of the Heritage Centre at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea. A group of people are sitting in front of the coble and guess what they have with the them - that's right a dog!


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