Man feeling 'fobbed off' over rat complaint

A property owner on a town street plagued by rats has said he feels "fobbed off" after the council failed to respond to his complaint about the rodents on time.

Richard Huysers complained to Darlington Borough Council on 16 October about problems on Westmoreland Street where residents say huge rats, dead rodents, dog mess and dumped rubbish have made life a misery.

He was told a response was due by 4 November, but said he was still waiting almost a month after making the complaint.

The council, which is led as a coalition between Labour and the Liberal Democrats, apologised for the delay and said officers were working on a full response.

Huysers, a health and safety manager who owns a property on the street, said: "I feel like I have been fobbed off really.

"They just say we should pay for services for the rats to be removed. The cleaning never seems to take place."

Residents have spoken of rats measuring about 10 inches (25cm) long without their tails, while dead rodents have been found in the back lanes.

Huysers said neighbours had even reported seeing rats eating other rats as they searched for food.

Pictures from the area have shown rubbish dumped beside walls, discarded bottles and rubble, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Another showed a large dead rat lying on the ground next to a plastic bottle.

Huysers said there were also fears the rats were getting into people's homes.

The 53-year-old said the problems had been going on for "at least eight years", adding he was disappointed not to receive a response when promised.

Another resident described the lane as "disgusting", claiming there were several dead rats along the street.

Darlington Borough Council previously said its civic enforcement team was working with environmental health to deal with the problems.

A council spokesperson said: "We acknowledge that a response to this complaint has taken longer than expected and apologise for the delay.

"We take all complaints seriously and officers are working to provide a full response addressing the concerns raised."

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