Mai Bufton got an email from a Luton Borough Council investigations officer claiming they'd received a complaint about 'excessive' dog fouling.

The 26-year-old believes a 'petty' neighbour or passerby peered into her garden and either spotted some mess before she had a chance to pick it up or mistook garden bark for the muck.

The customer service advisor, who owns two French bulldogs and a Frenchie-Pei, insists she regularly cleans her garden.

When Mai quizzed the council about who made the 'weird complaint' she says the council refused to tell her.

Outraged Mai shared a clip on social media explaining the situation captioned 'nightmare neighbours', which has more than 1,300 views.

In the clip Mai angrily says 'tell me why my pups should be doing their business in my house?'.

Many users took to the comments in support of Mai and branded the neighbour a 'Karen'.

However other users pointed out the dog fouling could be an 'environmental health issue' and stink in warmer weather.

The email threatened Mai with prosecution under The Environmental Protection Act 1990, which rules on failure to keep a property free of dog fouling on a regular basis.

Now, Mai is speaking out about the baffling complaint from June as temperatures begin to rise and other dog owners could face the same issue.

Mai, from Luton, Bedfordshire, said: "It was all a bit weird. I was shocked to receive that email and at first I thought it was a scam.

"Because of the subject of it as well I was thinking 'someone's pulling my leg here'.

"It could've been anyone looking over so I went back to the council and asked them who it was and they couldn't tell me. It could've been a random passerby.

"They didn't come and say that to me so to bypass that and go straight to the council is a bit petty.

"I'd understand if my whole garden was full of dog poo but it's like one or two where I haven't been standing out there with a carrier bag underneath their butt.

"I didn't realise you could go to the council for those types of things.

"If it was rented and a shared garden then fine, but it's in my own private garden. I don't understand how you can be saying that dogs need to go to the toilet in houses.

"My dogs have just come out of their puppy stage. They're toilet trained and do go out into the garden.

"I don't want that in my house. You just about put up with it when it's a cat in a litter tray. It's like me telling you your child needs to go out into the garden instead of in the house."

The full email from Luton Borough Council reads: "Good morning, I am an investigations officer for Luton Borough Council. I have been asked to review a complaint about excessive dog fouling to the rear of your property. I work with legislation linked to the Environment Act and on this occasion the relevant wording is below:

"Failure to keep a property free of dog fouling on a regular basis can result in a nuisance being caused by smell or flies. Under The Environmental Protection Act 1990 a Statutory Nuisance notice can be served and if the problem continues, the person responsible for the dog may face prosecution.

"Can I ask that you have a good clean-up of the rear yard, or maybe you already have and if that is the case can you send me an image of the clear up. Once this has been completed this complaint can be closed. I would ask going forward that you tidy up after your dog/dogs so that no further issues are raised."

Mai, who's the owner of Frankie, one, Elsey, nine months, and one-year-old Hughey, says that after sending photos of her clean garden, featuring bark, to the council they dropped the complaint.

Mai said: "I did send over pictures of the bark to the council.

"I think when they sent photos over they weren't looking too closely at it [and thought it was dog poo].

"I wasn't happy they were taking photos of my garden, it's my private space.

"I've just carried on how it was and no one's mentioned anything since.

"They made it seem like it was a whole garden full of dog poo everywhere and it's not like it was 20 degrees outside.

"At the end of every day or the next morning the garden would be cleaned and every two weeks I wash the astroturf with a cleaner."

Many users supported Mai in the comments of her TikTok video.

One user said: "If you clear it up what's the issue? Do they expect your dogs to use the toilet?"

Another said: "If it's your own private garden, then the neighbour is being a 'Karen'."

A third agreed and said: "Nosey neighbour. Tell the council to go away."

A fourth added: "The council has no right to tell you what to do in your garden."

However, one wrote: "The smell can be horrible in the summer. Easy just clean it up."

A second said: "It's an environmental health issue so the council still deal with it whether you own the house or not."

A third added: "The thing is when those poops build up and there's a sunny day it makes other people's gardens smell like poop too."

Luton Borough Council declined to comment.