ONE of Worthing's own notorious characters has been fined for letting her dog foul the promenade.

Alexandra Capone, who earlier this year painted her home in Marine Parade, Worthing, bright pink, was spotted by a foreshore inspector allowing her dog to defecate on the promenade.

When she made no attempt to pick up the mess, Ms Capone was confronted by the inspector.

Ms Capone became abusive, leaving him no choice but to call a dog warden to deal with the issue, which took place on January 20 this year.

On arrival, the dog warden noticed that Ms Capone had left the area, leaving behind her dog's waste.

The warden requested a statement from the inspector before preparing a fixed penalty notice for the offence.

The fixed penalty notice and covering letter was hand delivered by the warden, detailing how to pay.

Following no communication from Ms Capone, a reminder was issued, again receiving no response.

With Ms Capone not paying the fixed penalty notice, the council considered that it had no choice but to prosecute.

On July 10, Ms Capone went to court and was found guilty of failing to remove her dog's waste, leading to a fine of £50, a £15 victim surcharge and £100 costs.  

This was the third prosecution by Worthing Borough Council as part of a dog fouling crackdown. It follows the successful prosecution of a female dog fouler earlier this month.

Councillor Clive Roberts, executive member for the environment at the council, said: “This is a really strong start to our crackdown on irresponsible dog owners, with the council securing three successful prosecutions in quick succession.

“I want to thank all the pet owners who do their bit to keep our streets clean and reassure them we are doing all we can to deal with those who aren’t so considerate.”

We reported in February that Ms Capone had been handed an Asbo for leading a “reign of terror” over residents and businesses in the town.

The council had no powers to make her change the colour of her house as it was not a listed building.

However, after painting her property bright pink, the council introduced new measures in April to prevent people changing the colour of their house without consulting planning chiefs first.