Bonnybridge residents reeling from rat invasion

The council property at 89 Thornton Avenue, Bonnybridge, may not have a tenant, but it is not exactly lacking inhabitants, as scores of rats have taken up residence and are now moving into other premises.

Angela Morton, who lives next to the vacant property, says it has been a problem for months, but things have become even worse in recent weeks.

“You can hear them scurrying around in the cupboards,” she said. “And when I opened it you just see them all disappearing into the wall.”

Angela says her vet has advised her to remove her dogs from her house because one of them is pregnant at the moment and, as such, is at risk from the rats.

Things got even more serious when she woke up one morning to find her kitchen flooded and discovered the rats had chewed threw the hose leading to her washing machine.

Falkirk Council sent out a workman on Tuesday night to deal with the flood, but they failed to tell him about the rats.

The man refused to carry out any work on the problem because he had no appropriate protective equipment with him.

Last month The Falkirk Herald reported on the block of properties in Thornton Avenue and the vacant premises at 89, 93 and 95.

While it appears Falkirk Council have taken steps to deal with number 93 and 95 – with the two premises being advertised online in an effort to find new tenants – a reported legal issue means number 89 still remains a problem.

The council also took steps to arrange for rubbish to be uplifted at the location and for pest controllers to come out to assess the problem.

A Falkirk Council spokesperson said: “We are aware of the issues on Thornton Avenue and can confirm all three properties will be advertised on Homespot in the coming weeks.

“In the meantime we have had the bins emptied, gardens will be cut back and we will also arrange for pest control to inspect the properties.”

Thank you for reading this article on our free-to-read website. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

Please consider purchasing a subscription to our print newspaper to help fund our trusted, fact-checked journalism.

https://www.localsubsplus.co.uk/nord/dm/FKH/V