There was an absolutely horrible story in the Shropshire Star this past week.

It was reported that rugby player Jonny Stiles, who plays for Newport Rugby Club, spent six days in hospital after a small cut on his foot became infected from dog mess left on the pitch during a match.

Mr Stiles told the local paper, "I got a very small cut on my ankle during a game on the Saturday but nothing that stopped me coming off the pitch.

“I thought nothing of it. It wasn’t until the Sunday evening that I started feeling a little pain in my lower leg, but again I just thought it was perhaps aching muscles or soreness from playing.

“When I woke up on Monday I was in agony and my lower leg was all swollen and you could clearly see the cut had got infected."

After being given some strong antibiotics and pain killers and being told to rest for 48 hours, Mr Stiles deteriorated into hallucinations and high fever and was admitted to hospital. There he was diagnosed with an infected blood clot and cellulitis in his left leg, which had spread from his ankle all the way to his lower thigh. He was instantly put  on an IV drip and didn't leave hospital until six days later following surgery.

Mr Stiles said, "I spent the next two months recovering, and I had to take a two months off work and spent most of December on the sofa with my leg in the air. I have been left with a permanent scar on my leg and also have circulation problems."

And all this just because a dog-owner didn't have the decency not clear up after their pet. And more than that even, didn't even have the common sense not to walk the animal on the pitch in the first place.

It's a problem which affects many areas of amenity turf. Unless community pitches are physically roped off, which is far from ideal, what is stopping members of public walking their dogs across them?

One would like to hope that the more the general pubic become aware of groundsmanship and the efforts it takes both professionals and volunteers to maintain natural turf surfaces, through positive stories in the national and local media, the more common sense and decency will prevail.