Plague of rats is taking over flats

Council will remove rubbish to help alleviate problem

A property developer claims he was attacked by 12 inch rats as he renovated flats in Methil.

Steve Drummond said rather than scurrying away, the fearless rodents went for him as he entered the derelict homes on Wellesley Road.

Mr Drummond has lost count of the number of vermin he has seen and called for action to get rid of them.

The flats in question are close to the home of 56-year-old Phaemie Campbell, who last week told The Courier how she had been driven from her bed by the stench of rotting rat carcases in her wall cavities and the sound of rodents scratching above her ceiling.

The source of the infestation appears to be a nearby patch of land used as a dumping ground by fly-tippers, which Fife Council has pledged to clean up.

Mr Drummond said the area was plagued with rats, a number of which had burrowed into the flats and through the floorboards.

“They’re right through the building,” he said. “They have chewed through the wiring so there is no electricity and they’ve gnawed the plastic pipes.

“We’ve had fumigators in but more and more rats come in and we can’t get rid of them.”

Mrs Campbell said some of the rats had burrowed through from the derelict flats into her home while others had entered through an insecure door.

At her wits’ end, she has enlisted the help of local councillor John O’Brien who has discovered other householders in the street are also affected.

She is also due to feature in documentaries on both the BBC and ITV later in the year after camera crews arrived this week to film her plight.

Mr O’Brien said: “The problem is much, much worse than I anticipated last week.

“The council is highly embarrassed because it’s become the talk of Fife but I spoke to them a year ago about it and nothing was done.”

Following The Courier’s article last week, immediate steps were taken to secure several communal bins on Wellesley Road.

Levenmouth area services manager Dave Paterson said the council now intends to remove the rubbish from the land behind the bins.

Agreement has also been reached with landlords of two of the properties to remove rubbish accumulated there before pest control teams go in to lay bait.

They’re right through the building. DEVELOPER STEVE DRUMMOND

Pictures: Steven Brown. Top: dead rats and rotting carcases. Left: Councillor John O’Brien and Phaemie Campbell at the source of the problem. Above: the block on Wellesley Road that is being converted.