“Chaos ensues” when people walk six dogs at a time, says a Ham residents group, campaigning for the limit to be curbed at four canines per person.

Dog walkers in Richmond borough, not including its two royal parks, are allowed to walk up to six dogs at a time.

The maximum is four in the neighbouring boroughs of Hounslow, Hammersmith and Fulham, Wandsworth and Merton.

This discrepancy has led parks such as the Ham Lands park and nature reserve becoming a “haven” for people – especially professional dog walkers – to walk five or six dogs, said Ham resident Jenny Parker.

Parking is also free around Ham Lands.

The maximum dog rule is currently set out by Dog Control Orders (DCOs), which will expire in autumn 2017, to be replaced by the new Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) – which Ms Parker and her neighbours hope will mean the limit will fall to four dogs.

Ward councillor Sarah Tippet said: “This is not straightforward. For one, PSPOs cover more than just dog walking – but also the professional dog walkers lobby is really active.”

Ms Parker said “chaos ensues” when more than four dogs are walked by one person, because a “pack mentality” takes hold, making the animals difficult to control.

The problem is exacerbated when two professional dog walkers, each with six dogs, walk together, creating a “12 against two” situation, she said.

Problems cited by the group include dogs running off and becoming lost, or chasing horses at the nearby Ham Polo Grounds and Petersham Stables.

Cllr Tippett, who said she was “pro-four dogs at a time”, said she rescued a dog which had run away from Ham Lands while she was on Petersham Road, more than a mile away.

Will Clarke, from Isleworth, lost his cocker spaniel in June while it was being walked by a dog walker on Ham Lands, and it has not since been found.

However, Mr Clarke was at pains to say the person in question is not a “large-scale dog walker” and is a friend of his.

Cllr Tippett said: “This is a problem – residents have brought this up in the past.

“I am pro-four dogs at a time, but I would like to do it in a way in which everybody was happy.”