Concern over rat problem after building

Concerns have been raised about wildlife–thought to have been displaced from Horsham countryside fields – plaguing the homes of people living opposite a construction site.

Residents in the Holbrook area said they had noticed an increase in rats since building work started on land north of Horsham two years ago.

They said the rats had been getting into the lofts of their homes, creating havoc by chewing through cables and leaving droppings.

One woman in Words worth Place said that many neighbours had been affected.

“We’ve been here 14 years and we never had any problems before the building work started,” she said.

“A neighbour had 10 rats in her garden recently.”

She said she and other neighbouring properties had had to ‘rat-proof ’ their lofts by putting up wire mesh and laying down poison.

She added: “The noise they make is horrendous. They scratch and scratch and wake us up about three o’ clock in the morning.”

A Horsham District Council spokesperson said: “The legal responsibility to control rats rests with the owner or occupier of the land affected.

“Our environmental health records show that there has been no increase in the number of complaints regarding rat infestations in the surrounding neighbourhoods of Wordsworth Place and the construction site on the land north of Horsham development.

“Rats tend to settle in places where they can find shelter, food and water. Our environmental health officers always ask residents to check their gardens and ref rain from feeding birds and animals until an infestation problem is solved.”