LONG grass, due to Herefordshire Council cuts, is being blamed for a disturbing rat infestation in a quiet Ledbury street.

But the private pest control officer who is dealing with the problem, in Browning Road, on the New Mills estate, says it is an exceptional year for rats in Ledbury and infestations are also happening elsewhere in town.

Terry Gibson said: "There are a lot of rats in Ledbury. This year I've seen a lot more rats; why I don't know; and they are getting resistant to certain poisons."

It was Mr Gibson who was called in to deal with a rat problem for Browning Road resident, Sandra Locke, aged 62, who had rats under the conservatory.

Mr Gibson to is return soon to Mrs Locke's home, to see how effective the poisons have been.

He said of his first visit: "I was poking a hole under the conservatory, walked off, and I saw the stick moving. They had burrowed under the conservatory.

"I've done another job recently on the New Mills estate, a few streets away from Browning Road, and they were in the loft of a new house. I don't know how they got in there."

Mr Gibson believes that bird-tables and compost bins are more likely to attract rats to an area, rather than long grass, and he added: "Rats need water, food and somewhere to live, and a lot of people leave food outside."

On Wednesday morning, Mr Gibson was off to Lower Road, to deal with another rat problem in town.

For Mrs Locke, rats under the conservatory are a nightmare come true, and she believes the problem lies with the uncut verges of the stream, which lies outside her front door.

The verges have not been strimmed for a year, and then it was done by local residents, including her two sons, and not by the Herefordshire Council contractor, Balfour Beatty.

Mrs Locke said: "I think ist the undergrowth harbouring the rats. I would be afraid to cut it myself, in case something comes out; but Balfour Beatty won't strim it.

"I want the undergrowth cut down and the stream tidied. I want it done at least once a year. If you go down to the stream, you can't even see it."

Mrs Locke added: "I'm petrified of mice, let alone rats."

She realised she had a problem several weeks ago, when something large and furry ran across her paved back garden.

Mrs Locke said: "I know that a neighbour's cat took one into the house. It had bitten the cat's tail.

"My own dogs kept sniffing under the decking and going to one corner in particular."

The rats are costing Mrs Locke dear, with a £40 payment to Mr Gibson and a £130 bill to have a telephone line replaced.

The original line went under the conservatory and Mrs Locke suspects it was the rats that chewed it through, leaving her without a working telephone for one week.

Mrs Locke raised the issue of the rats and the undergrowth with the newly-elected county councillor for Ledbury West, Andrew Warmington, who went to see Mrs Locke and, in turn, raised the matter with Balfour Beatty.

Cllr Warmington said: "I went to meet Mrs Locke and look at the problem myself, which I then raised with the Locality Steward for Balfour Beatty.

"It is a very complicated problem in that the stream is the responsibility of the Environment Agency and the ditches are down to Balfour Beatty, who unfortunately no longer have the budget for clearing them, in any case."

Cllr Warmington added:"I understand and share Mrs Locke’s frustration, though I also understand the constraints on Balfour Beatty. I am working to do what I can on this."

At the time of going to press, Cllr Warmington was awaiting a further response from Herefordshire Council and its contractor.