Glasgow cleansing staff launch 'save our streets' amid rise in rodent claims

A “Save our Streets” campaign is set to be launched by Glasgow cleansing staff following new claims of rodents in city playparks.

It comes after cleansing workers, employed by the local authority, reportedly sighted rats at Yoker playpark.

Last month angry residents of Govanhill told how children were too scared to use the local playground because it was “overrun with rats”.

A small group gathered to protest and demand cleaner streets and a solution to get rid of the vermin that had been previously spotted in the children’s playpark.

Since then the council has installed fresh signage at Govanhill playpark and has been engaging with the community to try and change behaviour to prevent people from throwing down food for wildlife which in turn attracts rats.

But the GMB is still adamant that rats are still a concern for their members and that the situation is “escalating”.

Convenor Chris Mitchell, said: “We are looking at the same issues every week – the number of rats across the city is getting ridiculous.

“The situation is escalating in public parks now. Govanhill was an example and now all of a sudden they are being spotted in Yoker playpark.

“Across Glasgow parks are not being maintained properly, because there is not enough staff and that leads to more rats.”

However Glasgow City Council says it has received no reports of rats in Yoker Park or the Yoker area in general, despite carrying out an inspection in recent days.

The new Save our Streets campaign which will officially launch next week will run on behalf of the street cleansing and parks maintenance teams employed by the council.

Chris Mitchell added: “The small investment put into that service is just not enough.

“We just don’t have enough resources in cleansing or in parks and maintenance to deal with these problems. We are now seeing rats in children’s play parks as a result.

“The council will say the problem is people littering and not disposing of rubbish properly which to some extent is true but they need to take more responsibility for this.”

Glasgow City Council says that staff are expected to report rat infestations they encounter.

They will continue to monitor the area and respond accordingly as and when required.

A spokesman for the council said: “We’ve received no reports from staff about rats in Yoker Park or the Yoker area.

“To protect their health and safety, staff are expected to report rat infestations that they encounter so our public health team can intervene.

“We have also checked Yoker Park this week and found no evidence of rat activity within the park.

“However, we will continue to monitor the area and will respond appropriately as required.

“Rats are always searching for sources of food. Disposing of food waste in a bin is the best way of deterring rats at specific locations.”