Regarding the 'dog on a lead' order, i personally hope they do not impose it. I am a dog owner myself and whilst my dog can be annoying in that she likes to meet new people, she is not at all vicious or threatening. Most of all, she really needs that leg stretch that Mayow Park gives her in a safe environment (ie self-contained, little chance of her running into the road). Tell me where else I could exercise her in this way? Sydenham Woods is far too far and I don't take her to the Horniman because I know there are lots of families there and I can't always trust her to stay in the dog field.

However, I can totally sympathise with the people who have experienced the minority of careless dog owners. We were both attacked by a dog in Forest Hill, which I later found out had attacked someone else. In addition there are several quite aggressive dogs in Mayow Park that always seem to want a fight with other dogs and the owners are very lax about calling their dog off.

I do wish there was a way round it so that not all dogs and their owners are penalised. There are plenty of responsible owners (like me) and lovely dogs (like Tess) who don't deserve to be lumped into one box with the others. There are other places where dogs are banned - dogs need places to play too!