Man hits out at East Renfrewshire Council after home plagued by rats

David Graham claims his garden has been infested with vermin after the local authority dug up an area near his house.

The 51-year-old revealed the issue started earlier this year in April and since then the rats have been causing chaos.

He said: “It was because of the council when they were down near the swing park between Crossmill Avenue and Waulkmill Avenue.

“They had gone in and started digging it all up and that’s where all the rats were.”

Since then, David who has lived in his home for 22 years, said he has caught several of the wee creatures while his neighbours have also raised the issue with him.

The dad said: “I’ve caught a dozen of them – I caught six in about two to three minutes on one occasion. My neighbour down the road – his cat caught about five or six in one week.

“My neighbour on the other side of me is also constantly seeing and hearing them. Honestly, it’s bad.”

Sadly, the rodents are also causing David several issues including stopping him from sitting in his garden and enjoying himself.

He said: “I like going out and sitting in the garden as in the past two months I’ve just been diagnosed with angina and COPD so I can’t walk too far.

“So, I liked to go out and sit and watch the wee birds, but I’ve had to stop feeding the birds because I don’t want any excess food lying about for the rats to eat.

“They have also eaten the floor of my hut.”

Not only have the rats created issues for David, but the frustrated man has claimed he is terrified they will get into his house.

David added: “I’ve got a 13-year-old daughter and she’ll not go out in the garden at all because she’s terrified of rats.”

After revealing the problem to East Renfrewshire Council, the born and bread Barrhead man says they told him he’d need to pay £90 to resolve it.

He furiously said: “The first words out of their mouth was £90 to send the rat man down but I’m on housing benefit and council tax benefit.

“If I’ve not got the financial means to pay my rent and council tax, I’m sure as heck not going to give ten days of my benefits away. It’s hard enough trying to eat and heat at the moment.”

David added: “They basically said it’s not their problem.

“They should be dealing with it. They just aren’t interested.”

However, the local authority have said they have received no "reports" of rats in the area.

An East Renfrewshire Council spokesperson said: "No recent reports of rats in this area have been received, but we would encourage residents to make us aware of any particular concerns.

"Rats are creatures of habit, and will return to the same areas looking for food, which is why it’s so important if you see any on your property to arrange treatment immediately.

"Information on rats, including pest control arrangements, is available on our website: https://www.eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk/pest-control."