Carmarthen landlady takes live rat to county hall to give Carmarthenshire Council’s chief executive Mark James

A CARMARTHEN landlord left a live rat with receptionists at Carmarthenshire County Hall and told them to "pass it on to the chief executive" after being told the council no longer had a pest control department.

Arwen Davies, from Carmarthen, said that by not having a pest control department Carmarthenshire Council are risking a rat population boom in the county.

Miss Davies was called to one of her properties in St Catherine Street by a tenant who said the rat had crept into the garden.

Despite being pregnant, she picked the creature up and took it to County Hall for it to be handed in to the council's pest control department. She said: "I took it down to County Hall and I said please could you pass this on to your pest control department. The woman behind the desk said "we don't have pest control anymore" but she was happy to take the rat.

"I'm pregnant so I didn't really want to deal with it. I just suggested to them "maybe you could pass it on to the chief executive for me?" I'm not sure if they did or not."

Miss Davies said she was shocked to find out that the council does not have a pest control department. She has always worked hard to ensure her property is rat free but believes there could be a significant rise in vermin numbers without a council-run pest control service.

She said: "In the next three or four years they are going to be growing in numbers."

Miss Davies's partner Rhydian Thomas said they had started putting down traps to deal with the problem, but that they were not the only landlords in the town complaining about rats.

Mr Thomas said: "We have been putting traps and bait down but it is becoming a problem. "Others are having the same issues."

The council's pest control department was axed in 2011 to make savings. If residents need pests removed they now have to find a private pest control service, although the council is on hand to give advice on pest control.

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Carmarthen landlady takes live rat to county hall to give Carmarthenshire Council's chief executive Mark James