‘I take my rubbish to the dump rather than face back court rats’
Teacher reveals West End plague:
RESIDENTS and councillors say an area of the West End is being plagued by rats.
A teacher has described the moment her teenage son discovered an unwelcome guest in her front room, that had made its way up a flight of stairs and i nto her home through the cat flap.
Kate Bush, who lives in the Thornwood areas of Glasgow’s West End, says she has been battling with the council over the state of her litterstrewn back court for three years.
Residents have old-style metal bins which they say, regularly overflow and have led to an unwelcome invasion of rats.
It comes days after the Evening Times highlighted a problem with rats at the West End Retail Park, which is close to Kate’s home.
A member of the public captured grim footage of dozens of rats converging around waste food next to a recycling point used by the West End Retail Park on Crow Road. The bins have now been removed and pest control measures are in place.
A £6.5million project is under way to replace around 50,000 metal bins in every back court across the city. However, residents in the Thornwood area are facing a year’s long wait before the new bins are in place.
Local councillors say rats have been a “long term issue” in the area and called for the council to prioritise nearby residents with bins that are “fit for purpose.’
Kate, who teaches at Hillpark Secondary, said: “I got a phone call from my 13-yearold son Aidan, while I was work saying there was a rat in the living room. They shut the living room floor and I dealt with it.
“Pest Control were extremely helpful and quick in responding and surmise that the rat climbed the stairs and found its way in via the cat flap, which is now secured shut.
“The problem stems from the bins in the back court which are unfit for purpose. We have the old style metal bins from the 1950s.
“The photos of the rubbish were taken immediately after the bins had been emptied. It’s a massive trek to the bin shed, so the bin men climb over a fence to get to the bins and most of it falls out when they lift them. Now I take my refuse to the Civic Amenity Dump, rather than face the rats.”
Another resident, Paul Sparkes, said: “I was glad to see the article in the Evening Times as I live locally and had seen the rats early morning a few times at Crow Road retail park. I told a staff member in Sainsbury’s and called the councils Environmental Health team over a year ago, which clearly made no difference.”
Local councillor Ade Abinu, said:“It is disappointing this long-term issue of rodents in the West end retail park area was not promptly dealt with.”
A spokeswoman for Glasgow City Council said: “The area comes under Phase 2 so they will have the new wheeled bins by the end of March 2019.”