If you refuse to clean up after your dog, the Pooper Snooper will soon be on to you.

The Pooper Snooper is a new online app developed in partnership between the University of Gloucestershire and Bristol-based company Natural Apptitude.

It allows people to plot the location of any dog mess they discover on an interactive online map, revealing hot spots - if we can call them that - for the problem.

Pooper Snooper users can share also the information on social media to highlight areas that require cleaning and to encourage more socially responsible dog owners.

Dog mess is not just unsightly, it can be harmful too as it contains bacteria that can cause stomach illness and roundworms that can lead to blindness in extreme cases.

Professor Adam Hart from the University of Gloucestershire is an academic partner of the project who will be analysing the data.

He's worked on a number of high profile 'citizen science' projects including the Big Wasp Survey and the Flying Ant Survey and is keen to delve into the data.

"Currently we have very little idea of the scale of the problem, its distribution, the links to other wildlife issues and how we can cost-effectively tackle it," he said.

"It is a more unusual form of citizen science that's for sure, but we are hoping that lots of people will become "pooper snoopers" and help to provide the data we need to change behaviour and improve the environment for everyone".

Natural Apptitude is a small software company based in Bristol specialising in the design and development of bespoke smartphone apps and websites.

They have built an excellent reputation in the field of citizen science and many of their projects are centred on public engagement.

Dave Kilbey, CEO of Natural Apptitude added "We all need to take more responsibility for our pets.

"By highlighting just how bad the problem is, building up a better sense of social responsibly and helping councils to more easily target limited enforcement activities in the worst affected areas we hope to drive that change forward."