Fife Council has moved in to eradicate a horrendous horde of rats that has infested a Fife street.
Diggers were drafted in to a patch of waste ground in Methil to clear away several tonnes of rubbish dumped by fly-tippers.
The rubbish next to Wellesley Road has become home to hundreds of rodents, some of which have grown up to a foot long and have burrowed into neighbouring homes.
Horrified locals, who said they had been terrorised by the rats, expressed relief that action was finally being taken.
But while thanking the local authority for acting, Methil councillor John O’Brien expressed concern that any move to reduce the frequency of bin collections in the region could cause further vermin infestations.
“I’m very glad the council has listened at last,” he said. “The rubbish was getting out of control and was providing a food source for the rats, which were then running out of control.
“They were getting into people’s homes and causing real upset.”
One woman, Phamie Campbell, told how she had not slept in her bed for eight weeks due to the stench of rotting rat carcasses in her wall cavities, while developer Steve Drummond said he had been attacked by a “fearless” 12-inch rodent.
Mr O’Brien said that several large rats were scooped up along with the rubbish yesterday and put into skips. A number of rat nests were also destroyed.
“I’m really worried that if the council does decide to cut bin collections to every four weeks then the rats will come back worse than ever,” added the councillor.
The Courier revealed last week that the introduction of monthly collections was looking more likely after a trial in Glenrothes attracted no official complaints.
Thousands of households in Thornton and Stenton are taking part in the pilot, which has seen them become the first area of the UK to have their landfill bins emptied once every four weeks rather than once a fortnight,
Councillors were told last Wednesday that given its success, rolling the policy out across Fife was an attractive option.