A woman from Clacton who tried to con Tendring District Council into taking in her pet dog could face a hefty bill.

The woman called the council’s dog wardens claiming that she had found the cocker-staffy cross the night before. She claimed she was unable to keep it and asked for it to be picked up from her home.

Allen East was the dog warden who picked up the six to eight-month-old puppy, called Ben, from the woman’s home. The dog was micro-chipped and he traced the owner.

Allen said: “She told me she had given Ben to a woman with the same first name as the woman who reported him found – but did not know where she lived.

“I went back to the address and was told the woman was not in but she later came out and admitted the dog was actually hers. She had only taken it on, on the condition it settled in and she no longer wanted it.”

Mr East added that the woman provided a false signature and lied about ownership.

“She will now be reported to the council’s legal team for consideration for a fine and Ben will be kept at kennels for at least seven days,” he said.

Last summer the council gave a holidaymaker a bill for £82 after she claimed she had found a dog on Jaywick Beach which in fact turned out to be her pet.

The bill covered the wardens’ time and other fees incurred.

Nick Turner, TDC’s cabinet member for environment and coast protection, said: “We always take a strong line and make every attempt to trace the owner in these cases.

“If they turn out to be the dog’s owner and they just want to hand it over then they will be billed for wasting public money and the officer’s time.”