Plague of rats is a ‘living nightmare’, say residents
PEOPLE living on a street plagued by “hundreds of rats” say they are living a “nightmare”.
Residents in flats on Southport Road in Scarisbrick raised concerns with their local MP after a rat infestation led to bins being left uncollected.
Rachael Gallon, whose flat is on the ground floor, directly in front of the communal bin area, said people are now petrified of taking bins out because of the rats which can jump out at you.
The 32-year-old mum said: “It’s been an absolute nightmare. There is a big concrete base under the bins, and the rats have destroyed the base and chewed it all up, so we can barely get the bins in and out and there are mounds of rubble everywhere.
“One of the rats jumped out of the bin when I was trying to put the rubbish out - that’s why the bin men have refused to empty the bins because the rats were jumping into the bin wagon.
“One of the residents went out, and her car would not start, and when she looked, something had chewed through the electrics.
“There are hundreds of them, and when the bins have to be emptied, they all just scatter.”
Rachel said she reported the matter to the housing association, One Vision Housing Association, in December, as well as West Lancashire Borough Council in January.
The civil servant said she was then told a few weeks ago by the council they would not be emptying the bins due to the issue.
She added: “The bins have been overflowing for about three weeks, and there are hundreds of rats under there. People are petrified to go to the bins and run the risk that they will jump out at you, so they are leaving bin bags on the side.
“The council suggested a temporary measure of putting the bins out at the front. It’s a hygiene and a health and safety issue. I live right behind the bin area – I don’t want to be opening my window because if I do, they would get in here.
“My daughter who is eight years old doesn’t like them – she has anxiety and won’t go near the bin area.”
Meanwhile, other residents living nearby who wished to remain anonymous said they had spotted rats in the communal bin area.
One resident said: “The council do know about it – they are by the bins. When I went out, the bin men said, be careful, there are rats around there. There are rats - it’s no surprise - and it seems to be in the bins behind the flats.
“I saw a dead rat on my drive a couple of months ago. I was on my way out to work. It’s the shared bin area near the flats. This is normally quite a clean area - it’s not like there are people fly tipping and dumping things in bin bags.”
Describing the situation as ‘appalling’, local MP Rosie Cooper, who represents West Lancashire, said frustrated residents turned to her after the housing association, One Vision Housing, had failed to maintain the communal area where the bins were kept, leading to a rat infestation.
Left The communal bin area off Otterstye View in Scarisbrick which residents say has been plagued by “hundreds of rats”
Top and above, the flats on Southport Road which lead off Otterstye View in Scarisbrick
Below left, West Lancashire MP Rosie Cooper
To make matters worse, she said council waste teams were now refusing to collect any waste from the area until they were sure it was rat free.
Ms Cooper said: “This is an appalling situation where residents appear to be let down by One Vision Housing who own and manage the estate. Rats have been spotted and some works to fill up holes has been undertaken. No further work has been undertaken to clear the infestation completely.
“The situation is then exacerbated with the council waste team refusing to collect the bins to protect their own safety having reportedly ended up previously with rats in their vehicle and are not willing to risk that happening again.
“I have written to both One Vision Housing Association and to West Lancashire Borough Council urging both to come to an urgent resolution; get rid of the rats, clean up the area, seal it off and collect the waste. Residents deserve better than this.”
A spokesperson for West Lancashire Borough Council said: “The council is committed to a clean and safe environment for residents and we will work with One Vision Housing to help them resolve this issue. We will arrange a site visit in order to review their waste procedures so that communal waste can continue to be collected safely.”
One Vision Housing Association was contacted for comment.