Dog urine 'corroding lampposts'

Dog urine 'corroding lampposts'

Lampposts have been known to fall on passing pedestrians

Nearly one million lampposts in Derbyshire are to be checked by the council to ensure dog urine has not corroded the metal.

The six month monitoring survey is costing Derbyshire County Council £75,000.

It was commissioned after a report found that years of exposure to the highly acidic urine from dogs can cause the base of the posts to crumple away.

It is part of a national campaign after someone died when a light collapsed.

Walter Burrows, the council's cabinet member for environment and highways, says it is not a light-hearted matter.

"If it wasn't so serious it would be funny.

"But unfortunately about 18 months ago we had a problem in Derbyshire with a series of lampposts in one of our estates.

"We found dogs were causing a problem on this estate and we had to change about 20 lampposts.

"Hopefully we can prevent any fatality or any serious accident happening."