Academic in rat 'victory'

6:38am Friday 2nd November 2007

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THAMES Water says it will be undertaking a rat baiting operation in Jericho after using CCTV cameras to investigate claims of an explosion in the local rat population.

The company said the task of baiting sewers in Jericho would be ongoing over months. Oxford City Council are to simultaneously conduct an above ground rat baiting exercise.

Thames Water was called in after complaints from the Oxford academic Dr Frances Kennett, who says that her home in Great Clarendon Street was infested with rats.

Dr Kennett has been involved in a public row with Oxford City Council over months, blaming its introduction of fortnightly waste collections for an increase in the number of rats in the Jericho area.

She welcomed news of the proposed baiting as an important victory for residents.

This week, Thames Water carried out a survey of the sewers under homes in Great Clarendon Street. The company even employed a remote-controlled buggy equipped with CCTV cameras underground.

Don Sharples, of Thames Water, said: "We acknowledge that there is a rodent problem. The council have asked us to assist them in baiting and we have agreed. We are doing everything we have been asked to do to assist council and residents. But it is everyone's responsibility. "

The cameras were sent down to establish whether the rats were escaping into people's homes as a result of damaged pipes. And the company said it was confident that the condition of the Jericho sewers was not to blame for any infested homes.

Mr Sharples said: "We have done a full investigation with CCTV cameras and established that no repairs are required. Our sewers are in good condition.

"But some of the private sewers may be allowing rats to enter properties. Owners may might want to consider how their sewers are connected."

Dr Frances Kennett said she had been vindicated in her view that rat infestation was now a problem affecting large areas of Jericho.

Dr Kennett said the investigation proved that her problems had not resulted from a localised drainage problem, as the city council had been suggesting.

Instead, the experts had confirmed her belief that rats were being drawn from the sewers because of the increased level of waste in Jericho resulting from the alternative weekly collection of household refuse.

She said: "I consider that this is a personal achievement. I have been asking the council for months to get on to Thames Water, without results. Only by holding my ground and continuing the fight has this been achieved."

Dr Kennett said: "Both the Thames Water engineer and the council's rodent officer have proposed that the answer to the problems in Jericho is not my single drainage system, contrary to the ill-informed claims of city councillor Jean Fooks."

She had feared that "the finger was being pointed" at her and a broken drain in order to divert attention from the wider problems resulting from fortnightly waste collections.

The academic said that 25 people had emailed Ratwatch - the group set up to monitor the city's rodent problem.

"Only two of these had called the council. One had been told that as the sighting was on a neighbour's property, the call could not be dealt with.

"The other was told that their complaint would not be 'recorded' until a call-out took place, and that there would be a delay of about two weeks. The other reports were uniformly from people who see no point in contacting the council."

Susanna Pressel, councillor for Osney and Jericho, said: "There are a lot of rat sightings which are not recorded and I am convinced that there are more rats this year above ground than there were last year."

Jean Fooks, the executive member for a cleaner city, said: "I am pleased to hear this news. The evidence shows rat baiting helps control the rat population."