A YOUNG woman from Dollar has adopted a homemade invention to give something back to her community.

Holly Strachan was left appalled by the amount of dog mess in the area when she walked her four dogs.

And after hearing her thoughts echoed by a number of other people, she decided to act.

The 22-year-old had seen a plastic bottle turned into a bag dispenser in Alva and after posting a picture of it on Facebook, she replicated the contraption in Dollar.

With 25 of the models now in place, Holly told the Advertiser that locals are delighted action is being taken.

She said: "I'm a member of a Dollar community Facebook page and people kept posting pictures of dog mess and saying they need to clean up after their dogs.

"I was then walking around Alva and saw the idea, so took a picture and people loved it. I then asked people to donate supplies.

"Donna Dickie from Diamond Dogs Pet Hotel in Clackmannan then got in touch to donate 700 bags and cable ties as well as plastic bottles which I had also been saving up."

The primary school teacher then went round the village tying the makeshift bottles to lampposts which led to other dog walkers stopping and praising her for her efforts.

For Holly, however, she just wanted to give something back to the area while encouraging people in neighbouring towns to follow suit to tackle the dirty issue.

She continued: "I put up 25 bottles at the moment just to see how it goes. I have also said if anyone wants to put more then they can.

"I asked opinions on the Facebook group about where to put them and also put a load along the main dog walking routes in the area."

Holly is already appealing for more supplies to roll out the idea further, adding that she walks around the area regularly with her four dogs.

"Another reason I wanted to do it was to encourage people in other town to try and do the same," she said.

"I haven't actually noticed the problem specifically in other towns but I do think that it is a common problem, not just in Clackmannanshire but all across Scotland.

"All of the feedback so far has been very positive. People have been saying I've done a good job and are now collecting bags and bottles for me."

Holly wanted to give a huge thank you to Donna at Diamond Dogs Pet Hotel for her generous donation, as well as all of the well wishers on Facebook for their support.

There was also a mention for Fiona McKinley, the woman who put the original bottle up in Alva which gave Holly the idea.