The dog walkers on the beach at Llandudno may seem an unlikely target for professional surveillance. Many are pensioners who have frequented the sands and promenades all their lives or tourists enjoying the north Wales scenery.
They are being watched through binoculars, covertly filmed and followed by uniformed security officers as they go for walkies through the sand dunes.
The officers work for Kingdom Security, a private firm hired by Conwy county borough council to ensure dog-walkers use a leash in designated areas.
Conwy is Wales’s capital for dogs on lead orders, with 492 people handed fixed penalties in the past two years, of which 65 were overturned. Now the walkers are fighting back with marches, court challenges and countersurveillance of Kingdom’s officers as they battle to rid the town of the “dog lead police”.
One resister is Llandudno resident Anne France, 72, who takes her disabled neighbour’s dog for walks as a favour to the owner. This landed her in the magistrates’ court when she disputed a £75 fixed penalty from Kingdom last year.
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“I was out with Sandy one day and a big man in a uniform appeared out of nowhere and told me I was breaking council rules by not having her on a lead. It took me by surprise but I accepted it,” she said. “Then a few days later I spotted the same man following me.”
France said he trailed her for 15 minutes before issuing a new fine. At court the penalty was overturned but she has since received three more.
Carol Marubbi, the former mayor of Llandudno, has started compiling a list of cases and is calling for people to challenge the penalties. She does not argue with the need for control areas but says Kingdom’s tactics are disproportionate.
“I’ve spoken to dog walkers who found themselves being followed through the sand dunes by two big men in black and had no idea why. It was really intimidating for them.”
Conwy councillor Mark Baker said the measures were a response to an outcry and were now being reviewed. “Five years ago the council was receiving a lot of complaints from residents about out-of-control dogs running around without leashes and fouling, so the orders and Kingdom were brought in,” he said.
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“The dog control orders aim to prevent the small number of irresponsible dog owners from allowing their dogs to foul, stray and be out of control in a public place. Our beaches would not have Blue Flag status without them.”
He was supported in nearby Dwygyfylchi, where Malcolm Bleasdale, 72, who has two Afghan hounds, would like Kingdom officers in his village. “As a conscientious dog walker it can be very frustrating how selfish others can be,” he said.
The council receives 40% of each fine and the company 60%. Kingdom works for more than 20 councils in England and Wales and saw its profits rise by 30% last year to £9m. The firm said: “Kingdom simply enforce the policy of the democratically elected council and play a part in helping keep Conwy clean.”