Douglas Council has placed signs on the capital’s beach, to make it clear where dog owners can and can’t exercise their pets.

Two boards placed at the steps leading on to the shore by the Queen’s Hotel define which parts of the beach can be used.

Owners are permitted to exercise their dogs on the northern section of the beach, up towards the old Summerland site, as long as the pets are under control , and any mess is removed.

The southern end, from the Queen’s Hotel down to the Bottleneck car park, is out of bounds to pets between the hours of 10am to 5pm this summer, until the end of September.

The constraints were enshrined in law after the council updated its dog control byelaws in 2015.

Councillor Ritchie McNicholl, who chairs the environmental services committee, says most dog owners are responsible, but a few ’bad eggs’ mean restrictions are necessary.