Shocking footage shows rats swarming near entrance to shopping centre
SHOPPER CLAIMS SHE SAW ‘100’ RODENTS AROUND BUSHES NEAR COOPERS SQUARE
THE owner of land plagued by a large number of rats has said it will be investigating after footage showed dozens of rodents scurrying under bushes near a shopping centre in Burton, close to where shoppers were walking.
A worried shopper took the video claiming she had also spotted close to 100 of them running in and out of bushes close to the High Street entrance to Coopers Square shopping centre in Burton.
The rats were spotted just metres from where unsuspecting passengers were waiting to board buses and shoppers were heading in and out of the centre. Now, Staffordshire County Council, as owner of the land, said it will be investi- gating the issue. David Williams, cabinet member for highways and transport at the county council, said: “Our highways teams will investigate the matter and work with the relevant agencies as required.”
East Staffordshire Borough Council’s environmental health team had also visited the area, but said officers did not see accumulations of waste that may serve as an attraction to rodents, but said it would write to the county council as landowner to notify it of the situation.
Lynette Howgate, manager at Coopers Square shopping centre, asked members of the public to avoid leaving food and drink behind which may encourage the rodents to return more often. She said contributing factors were the site’s close proximity to the River Trent and the fact it was a large area regularly visited by shoppers. She added that the shopping centre was looking to create a more suitable landscaped area.
The video the shopper took shows rats scurrying in and out of bushes on a raised bed outside the shopping centre entrance and just metres from unsuspecting shoppers waiting for buses nearby.
The shopper who captured the video said they were walking towards the market when she noticed them “and there was a lot more than what I caught on video. I would say there was close to 100 that we could see”.
She said: “There were loads of babies and they were under all the bushes that we saw. We were quite shocked at the amount that were out and about casually eating bird seed the pigeons were eating too.”
There were loads of babies and they were under all the bushes that we saw.
Shopper