People in West Swindon will get the chance to choose the locations for new dog bins at a meeting this week.

As part of a trial to see if dog bins should be installed on a borough-wide scale Toothill and Westlea are due to get 20 bins.

Residents will be able to discuss the bins' positioning for the six-month trial at an area panel west meeting on Thursday night at 7pm at Upper Shaw Farm.

A trial scheme of ten bins will also take place in Lawns.

The placement of the bins in Lawns will be carried out after each ward councillor is consulted.

The overall cost of the trial is £5,124 and if the 30 bins scheme continues next year then it will cost about £3,000 a year for upkeep and bin emptying.

Lawns and Toothill were chosen as test places as they are two of the worst affected areas of Swindon hit by dog faeces.

Peter Ellershaw, the director of environmental services, said: "Dog faeces can spread disease particularly to young children.

"Dog faeces in public spaces can be a source of distress and conflict within communities.

"The problems of dog fouling in public open spaces has existed for a long time.

"There have been constant requests from dog owners for the council to provide dedicated dog bins.

"In some areas dog owners have taken to festooning bushes and trees with bags of dog waste, presumably as a form of protest.

"Removal of these bags is unpleasant for the staff who have to carry out the work."

The plan for providing dog bins follows a petition handed into the council from pupils at Westlea School.

To establish a borough-wide scheme of 400 bins will cost an extra £31,450 to install the bins and a total of £38,450 a year to service them.

For the trial period John Short, director of Swindon Contractors, has said that the bins should be installed and serviced by a specialist contractor as it would be uneconomic for the council to set up a trial scheme.

At the moment Bayer Plc, a manufacturer of pet worming products, has offered a one-off payment of £20 towards the cost of each bin in exchange for the display of a poster advertising their product on the bin.

The council is in talks with other companies to see if any similar funding opportunities can be set up.