Rat reports rise with new food waste rules
LDRSA rise in rat activity has been reported near allotments following the introduction of weekly food waste recycling collections.
Rodents were spotted near Challoner Road and Meynell's Walk in Yarm during the first weeks of the food caddy collections, which are now required by law.
One resident claimed to have seen a "seagull with a rat in its mouth", while near the allotments on Meynell's Walk, retired nurse Sharon Taylor, 67, said: "I've noticed the rats and mice in the last two weeks. I'm picking big pieces of rat poo up."
However several other people in the area said the new system was working well but some householders were simply putting out the wrong bins.
A resident of The Meadowings, who had seen piles of bin bags and claimed people could not get hold of the necessary containers, said: "My neighbour had a bin bag split open at the bottom. It had been chewed, food had been pulled out.
"I've seen about four mice in the space of three days, I didn't see them before that.
"People don't want to keep the bin bags in their houses. It's two weeks, it stinks."
But at the other end of Challoner Road, 61-year-old Paul Taylor said: "I've had no problems. They've taken everything away as they should. It's been fine so far."
Another resident said: "People are putting out the wrong things. They don't seem to have an understanding of what you have to put out."
