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A Welsh police force has provoked outrage after naming a community education programme about dog mess “Operation Irish”.

An angry father contacted WalesOnline after being told about a visit made by police officers to his child’s primary school in the Llanedeyrn district of Cardiff.

He said: “Obviously it’s a good idea to educate children about the danger of dog mess. But when I heard the exercise had been named Operation Irish, I thought it was outrageous. It’s like a throwback to earlier centuries, when Irish people were portrayed as monkeys or sub-human creatures.

“For a police force to use a name of this kind in such a connection is beyond belief. They should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.”

Lila Haines, an Irish grandmother who works for a major charity in Cardiff and has lived in Wales for nearly 40 years, said: “I’m horrified that anyone could think it appropriate to allow a connection to be made between dog mess and Irish people. It’s particularly insensitive in a city where it has been estimated that up to 30% of the population are of Irish descent.

“I can’t imagine what they were thinking of – such a gaffe is inevitably going to give rise to allegations of racism.

“I know the police like to come up with imaginative names for their operations, but you wouldn’t expect them to come up with anything as crass as this.”

Newport West Labour MP Paul Flynn, who grew up the descendant of Irish immigrants in Grangetown, Cardiff, said: “The choice of Operation Irish as the name for an educational programme about dog mess is an act of Olympian stupidity.”

In 1960s England, and especially in London, many landlords and owners of bed and breakfasts and boarding houses put signs in their windows stating “No Blacks, No Dogs, No Irish”.

Other owners of property and rented accommodation put up signs stating “Vacancies available – Irish Need Not Apply”.

These signs became known as “INNA” signs, and the blatant anti-Irish prejudice and discrimination was apparent.

A spokeswoman for South Wales Police confirmed that the initiative undertaken by members of the Llanedeyrn neighbourhood police team had been named Operation Irish. Yesterday the team was out in the area, talking to residents, and giving them information about dog faeces and encouraging them to bag dog waste if it is excreted in public areas.

The spokeswoman said: “This is an educational operation aimed as encouraging dog owners to be responsible. Operational names are randomly assigned to policing operations for administrative purposes. They do not in any way reflect the nature of the police activity or subject matter.

“It would never be our intention to offend and it is regrettable if that is the case.”

Dog faeces can pose a significant health risk to humans, particularly young children as their immune systems are not fully developed.