4 hours ago
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Cuts to council pest control services are being blamed for a town’s rodent problem, which includes the discovery of a supersize rat said to be 22in (56cm) from nose to tail.
The giant rat, about the length of the carry-on luggage people might be wheeling on to a flight – or, if not on holiday, a desktop monitor – was found inside a person’s home in Normanby, Teesside.
“I had to do a double take when I saw a picture of it,” said Stephen Martin, a Conservative councillor on Redcar and Cleveland council. “You can tell by the size of the bag that it’s not a normal size. It’s the size of a cat.”
Martin, whose Eston ward is close to where the rat was removed by a pest controller, said it was not a one-off.
“Rats are being spotted more and more around our area. It has been getting worse for a few years now.”
As with many cash-strapped local authorities, Redcar and Cleveland does not offer a pest control service to private residents. Its website says officers can offer free advice over the phone, “however, the responsibility for taking action to solve a pest problem belongs to the occupant of the property”.
But Martin said many people did not have the money to pay private pest control companies.
He said the rat problem often began on council or housing association land “but they’re expecting private residents to sort it out”.
There are also problems with people putting the wrong waste in recycling bins. “Instead of actually taking the bins away they are just tagging them, making the resident know it’s contaminated, and it is not getting emptied,” he said.
“There’s more rubbish on the ground and it is attracting more rats and they are just getting bigger and bigger and bigger.”
Fellow Eston councillor David Taylor said: “I have seen a fair few rats but nothing the size of this one. My dog [a cockapoo] can often smell rats … I wouldn’t like to think she was tackling that one.”
Taylor said about five housing estates had been built in quick succession locally, which affected infrastructure and moved rats from fields to urban areas.
Add to that the increase in takeaway food and fly-tipping and there was a perfect storm, which needed a coordinated approach, he said.
“The rats obviously lived in the sewers but they’re now walking the streets.
“The problem is UK-wide and it needs to be sorted with a joint effort. It needs government, local councils, the water boards, private landlords, shops and businesses … all to come together.”
Taylor said he understood money was tight at Redcar and Cleveland council but the problem would just get worse without action.
Martin said many residents had been in touch to say they had spotted rats around bins, in alleyways and crossing the street. He was sent a further picture at the weekend of a rat having a go at bins during the day.
Martin and Taylor are calling for a full vermin survey and treatment plan across the borough. “The longer this is ignored, the worse it will get,” they said.
A spokesperson for Redcar and Cleveland council said: “The council has a dedicated pest control officer, who manages pest issues on council-owned land. While we no longer provide a wider pest control service, we do offer advice to residents where possible.
“The council continues to work with Beyond Housing, Northumbrian Water and other partners to address complex issues and explore potential solutions.
“There is also helpful guidance and preventive measures on our website to support people in dealing with pests.”
