A rat problem that had been plaguing Lochee residents appears to have been brought under control by pest control officers.
Residents first started spotting the vermin scurrying about local streets earlier this year. At the time work associated with environmental improvements was blamed for their emergence.
The High Street area suffered considerable disturbance during the £2 million improvements programme and this is understood to have caused the rats to leave their usual haunts and venture further afield.
The demolition of housing at the south end of the High Street may also have been responsible for flushing the rats out.
Some big rats were spotted casually walking along footpaths early in the morning by people on their way to work. A few were big and bold enough to be tracked by police CCTV cameras in the Bright Street area.
The issue was taken up by Lochee councillor Tom Ferguson, who asked the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to make sure pest control policies in the area were up to standard.
Mr Ferguson said the problem appeared to have been brought under control but it would have to be monitored carefully to ensure it did not flare up again.
“I had been getting complaints about rats from local residents but these have now stopped, which is a good sign,” he said. “I think all the groundworks that took place during the improvements programme may have been responsible for bringing the rats out.
“However, I’ve insisted that the various authorities responsible for pest control remain vigilant. There are a few areas where the rats may have originated from and we’ll need to pay particularly close attention to them.”
Photo used under Creative Commons licence courtesy of Flickr user ahisgett.