A Scottish mum got the shock of her life when she opened her wheelie bin to find nine rats spilling onto the street. The cause of which, is believed to have come from workers clearing a massive fly-tipping site nearby.
Shocking video footage of the incident shows the rodents piled into a grey waste bin in the village of Plean, Stirling, and then leaping in the air to try and make an escape. The rats had initially forced their way into the bin by chewing a hole in the top, and consequently got stuck.
The Record report that mum-of-six Debbie Burns blames the clean-up operation nearby for an influx in rodents, with a staggering 155 tonnes of waste being removed from an M9 embankment, costing £50,000. Since the operation started, residents of Wallace Crescent have been plagued by pest problems.
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For this unlucky resident, this went further than just witnessing the rodents scurrying around nearby. Unfortunately, she got up and way too personal with the terrifying group of rats.
Debbie added that her children, aged between 18 months and 17-years-old, have avoided playing in the garden due to the fear of a similar situation arising. Debbie added: “I have six kids in this house and can’t let them out in their own garden to play due to the whole street being plagued by rats since BEAR Scotland cleared the embankment behind the houses and disturbed the nests.”
BEAR Scotland say that “extensive fly-tipping” is to blame for the issues. A spokesman said: “When we were originally made aware of issues with vermin in this area we investigated and a programme of pest control was undertaken. However, the main issue was identified as extensive fly-tipping on Scottish Minister’s Land to the rear of the properties in Wallace Crescent.
“As a result, in February we completed a clear-up operation that saw the removal of 155 tonnes of waste material. The job had originally been estimated to cost over £20,000 but ultimately exceeded £50,000 due to the amount of material that had built up.
“We kept the residents updated to the situation, giving them information on how to contact us. It is suspected that this waste was a key contributing factor to the original issue. We have recently been made aware that there is an ongoing situation with vermin and our specialist pest control contractors have been tasked to undertake a further programme to treat the area.”
Debbie says that she contacted the council last month to arrange for pest control to attend but that nobody ever showed up. Stirling Council’s environmental health team visited residents last week and say they are working with Transport Scotland and BEAR Scotland to ensure appropriate pest control measures are put in place to address the issue.
A spokesperson said: “We realise this has been an alarming situation for residents and will be contacting council tenants directly to provide pest control treatment at no cost to them. In the meantime, we would encourage people to dispose of waste and recycling responsibly, using the facilities provided either at home or at recycling centres.
"The council regularly highlights fly-tipping as a crime that blights society, and this is one example of how negatively it can impact communities.” Ward councillor Alasdair Macpherson believes overflowing bins – which are emptied every four weeks – could be contributing to the issue.
He said: “Whilst I’ve no doubt that their nests were disturbed after BEAR Scotland removed debris, several residents told me that they saw rats climbing into grey bins that can’t close fully because they are overflowing due to them only being emptied once a month now. The problems residents are experiencing at Wallace Crescent problem has proven that moving to a monthly emptying has had unintended consequences that no one could have predicted.”
