RESIDENTS who are dealing with rising populations of rats infesting their streets have been told to report their concerns to Barnsley Council - after figures obtained by the Chronicle revealed almost £1m has been spent on pest control in five years.

A total of 4,466 reports due to rats have been made with wasps, mice and flies other common issues.

Councillors have complained about rats being seen in daylight on streets with missed bin collections and, although predominantly a warm-weather problem, residents in the Kingstone ward have continued submitting reports during the winter.

Fly-tipping woes have also exacerbated the issue, according to councillors, while pest control since 2020/21 has cost £845,000, with call-outs for rats being the most prevalent, according to the council - although some of that figure was paid for by residents.

Councillor James Higginbottom, cabinet spokesperson for environment and highways, said: “Rats are the most common issue we respond to and over recent years we’ve continued to resource the service so we can manage infestations quickly and reduce the impact on communities.

“While some pest treatments are charged to residents, typically where they relate to private domestic issues, many of our wider prevention, investigation and enforcement activities are funded by council investments and income from paid-for treatments to protect public health and keep neighbourhoods safe.

“Reports of vermin can be influenced by a range of environmental factors, including weather patterns and food availability.

“We continue to work closely with our waste and neighbourhood services teams to ensure that waste collections, street cleanliness and pest control work together to help prevent infestations.

“We encourage anyone experiencing problems with pests to report them promptly so our teams can provide support and prevent issues from escalating.

“It is unacceptable that individuals take it upon themselves to blight our local areas with fly-tipping.

“The increase in the maximum penalty for fly-tipping and other environmental offences allows us to take stronger action against offenders.

“I encourage members of the public to report any instances of fly-tipping so we can continue to target and punish those who commit these crimes in our borough.”

Coun Steve Bullcock, who represents the Kingstone ward - one of the worst-hit for fly-tipping - urged people to continue reporting issues.

“When a resident sees five rats in one take at 2pm on a broad daylight afternoon like we saw last year, we are clearly heading for serious challenges and health problems in our town,” he added.

“My wife recorded rats just wandering around on Burleigh Street and when I went to see, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

“There were small ones, big ones and everything in between, but nobody seemed to want to do anything about it.

“They are fly-tipping hotspots, as the figures show, but there appears to be absolutely zero improvement.

“Now there are rats the size of a cat present but what makes it more concerning is that Barnsley Council are more than aware of the ongoing problems.

“This is a fast-developing health and safety situation and I would be grateful to know what the plans are to resolve this long-standing problem.”