Dear Editor,
In Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’ Mammon, one of the fallen Angels, is described as having his eyes ‘downward bent’ almost permanently, in admiration of Heaven’s pavement of beaten gold before God ejected him along with Santa’s other supporters.
Every time I walk around Nafferton and Driffield this extract springs to mind - not because our local council has provided such luxurious pavements but because of the quantity of dog mess which has to be avoided, not to mention the vomit, in Driffield’s main street after the weekend’s excesses and the dreadfully uneven pavement along Nethergate in Nafferton. One daren’t allow one’s vision to stray from where one’s feet need to be placed for a moment.
I dared to challenge one dog owner who had allowed his two Labradors to mess, off the lead, on a public right of way through the parks in Nafferton.
He announced that he’d never cleared up after his dogs in 25 years as a Nafferton resident - what a proud boast!
What exacerbated the situation was that sheep were grazing this land and dog faeces are carriers of particularly devastating parasites for sheep. His dogs shouldn’t even have been off the lead, a right of way doesn’t give automatic permission to roam free, especially when the dog owner isn’t prepared to clear up after the dog.
The dark nights also enable many deceitful dog owners to escape their obligations thus helping the spread of canine diseases - as people they can’t be very pleasant; such irresponsibility suggests selfish, arrogant, inconsiderate beings. Clearly descendants of Milton’s Fallen Angels!
Emily Redman
Nethergate
Nafferton