Residents worried about a "Deepdale pandemic" as rat problem increases

Irfan Sabir, chairman of the Deepdale Community Association, says people are so worried about vermin entering their houses that they’ve even started to move biscuits and other food items into high cupboards.

He says the rats are thriving in the area because of fly-tipped waste on a disused railway line near Burrow Road, a problem he first highlighted in the Post more than three years ago.

Although Network Rail, who own the land, say they’ve spent tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money clearing up the mess in recent years, the community association is calling for more action.

Irfan said: “The problem with the rats has got much, much worse. Nobody seems to take responsibility here. There’s been so many promises, and nothing delivered.”

Deepdale Community Association has long claimed that the Counties area of Deepdale is a “forgotten area” for investment and attention.

He said: “This area is so hospitable and does so much commercially in terms of the retail park, Deepdale, the bus depot, but what do we get back? It feels an absolute state.”

Illness worries

Irfan added: “Rats spread illness and it’s got to the point where people are saying there’s a Deepdale pandemic. Why are so many people in this community ill with stomach bugs and their children ill?

"People are moving biscuits from their cupboards because they don’t want rats in the house. One family settled down to watch a film one night and a rat ran across the room.

"It’s 2023 and it’s not acceptable. We need a quick, long term plan.”

What do the land owners say?

Ian Croucher, Network Rail maintenance protection coordinator for Lancashire, said: “We are equally as frustrated as residents that people illegally dump their waste onto the disused railway lines in Deepdale. We’re in a constant battle against fly tippers using the area as a personal dumping ground and we’ve spent tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money clearing up the mess in recent years - cash which should be spent improving the operational railway for passengers.

“Fly tipping is not only a blight for communities, it’s also hazardous for our staff. We won’t tolerate it and we will do everything we can to catch those responsible and bring them to justice. We’d urge anyone who sees illegal dumping taking place to immediately contact the British Transport Police.”

What are the council doing?

Preston Council say they only attend to a report of rats within a property, or alternatively provide advice.

They have no current jobs logged on Deepdale Road. On Goldfinch Street they had a job logged on May 23 and at another address where advice was provided.

A Preston City Council spokesperson said: “Rodents are a destructive and upsetting issue for residents and we work hard to ensure that any reported concerns are dealt with quickly and humanely to try and keep some control over the rodent population.

“Issues like overflowing bins and fly tipping can unfortunately encourage rodents and we ask residents to be mindful of their waste and to avoid fly tipping, which is a time consuming and expensive issue for the council to deal with, tying up resources that could be spent elsewhere.”

Residents who are concerned about rodents or fly tipping should report issues on the council website.