A HORRIFIED councillor is demanding action to tackle a rat infestation in Johnstone.

John Hood said he was disgusted to see several of the creatures in the town’s Beith Road.

The Labour man was standing with his son at a bus stop outside Johnstone High School when they were “surrounded” by the vermin.

He has since been contacted by a number of local residents who complained about the same problem – and has urged Renfrewshire Council to take action.

READ MORE: Fed-up Johnstone residents demand urgent action to tackle rat infestation

Councillor Hood told The Gazette: “I believe the issue started a few years ago when they lifted the astroturf at the old school.

“Since then, the number of rats has hugely increased.

“There have been issues at the old Benston Garage, which seemed to be caused by rubbish left lying around. Even since that was all cleared up, the problem hasn’t gone away.”

Cllr Hood also believes the council’s decision to change the frequency of collections of grey bins for general waste from once a fortnight to once every three weeks may have helped rats to flourish.

He said: “I think the issue with the grey bins only being collected once every three weeks is making things worse.

“This has been a problem in the area for a long time and people shouldn’t have to live with it.”

This is not the first rat ‘invasion’ to hit Johnstone in recent times.

In September last year, properties in Broomward Drive were overrun by the vermin.
Many residents claimed a council-run waste centre in nearby Miller Street was to blame for that particular problem.

READ MORE: Concern over town 'rat invasion'

A spokesperson for Renfrewshire Council said it was looking into Cllr Hood’s latest complaint about the situation in the Beith Road area.

“The council is aware of the condition of the land at this location and is currently assessing this,” added the spokesperson.

“At this time, there are no active service requests to treat vermin in the area of the site.

“If any resident has concerns with vermin in their property, they should contact the council’s pest control service on 0300 300 0380.

“The pest control service will arrange to visit and undertake an appropriate course of treatment.”

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