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Rat Bites Spark Cleanliness Plea
12 Oct
Summary
- A woman suffered multiple rat bites on her ankle.
- Flytipping has increased despite waste collection efforts.
- The council is spending an additional £500,000 on cleanup.
A recent rat bite incident on Abraham Street in Blackburn has led the local council to call for greater public cooperation in keeping streets clean. A woman reportedly sustained several bites to her ankle from a rodent, an experience described as 'awful' by council leader Phil Riley.
Riley cited a widespread issue with flytipping across the borough, stating that it clearly attracts rats. This challenge is compounded by increasing amounts of waste and persistent littering, despite enhanced collection services and volunteer litter-picking initiatives.
In response, the council has committed an additional £500,000 towards cleanup operations. This investment follows a year where 93 flytipping penalties were issued, resulting in over £32,000 in fines, illustrating the scale of the problem.
