A MESSY burn is being blamed for the rise in the number of rats spotted around Pitcorthie.

Dunfermline South councillor James Calder says he has been contacted by several residents worried about the growing presence of rodents.

It is thought the vermin are coming from the Whinny Burn and calls are being made to have the area cleaned up.

“The number of people who have complained about rats to me has been in double figures,” said Cllr Calder. “The burn goes through the area and it is a bit of a problem.

“Obviously you are going to find rats in waterways anywhere but I think the state of the burn does contribute.

“It is a public health hazard if there are rats. I have brought it up with the community council and I had a surgery last week and had four residents come along to the surgery and they mentioned the problem with rats.

“Some of it links into the cuts with the parks, streets and open spaces teams. I am hoping more staff will be reallocated towards Dunfermline in the upcoming budget so hopefully that will mean more resources to make sure the area is kept clean.”

South Dunfermline community council chairperson Alastair Kay said the presence of rats has been raised at several of their recent meetings.

“Cllr Calder has been trying to get the parks, streets and open spaces department to come and tidy up the burn,” he added.

“They did have bait boxes out last year but I think the fact that it has not been cleaned up for a while may be contributing and the council are also saying too many people are feeding the birds.”

Fife Council’s Graeme Anderson, technical officer (dog and pest control), said: “We visited the site last week to lay test baits. We carried out a follow-up visit this week and discovered a small amount of bait had been taken.

"We’re now treating the area appropriately. We’ll return at beginning of next week to check progress.”