Overview

• A 56 cm rat nesting in a Normanby loft cavity was trapped by the council’s sole pest controller and humanely killed
• Eston Ward councillors have formally called for an immediate borough-wide vermin survey and an intensive treatment plan
• Redcar and Cleveland Council currently maintains pest control only on its own land and provides advice rather than services to private properties
• Officials and residents point to unclean alleyways, improperly stored refuse, overgrown vegetation and recent roadworks as drivers of the surge
• No additional funding or expanded pest-control service has yet been approved, leaving private homeowners to manage outbreaks at their own expense