Rodents 'terrorise' Xaghra residents

Xaghra residents are being terrorised at night by an army of rats which leave their home - the Qortin dump site, which was closed down at the beginning of the month - and go on a rampage in search of food.

"I was too scared to leave my house on Thursday night because there were about 50 rats prowling outside the porch," one woman said.

Another resident said some of the rats were nearly as big as a cat and they were attempting to squirm into any place where they thought they could smell food.

"Just watching them running across the road sent shivers down my spine," a man said.

"I guess the food they scavenge at the dump site has run out and now they're starving and are coming out looking for anything they can devour," another woman said.

The residents all said that unsuspecting motorists ran over rats in the road close to the dump site and found the rats' dead carcasses in the morning.

"These rats must have also been fed poison. They are destroying the surrounding fields and their crops. They can also cause accidents in Marsalforn Street, Xaghra since they are in the middle of the street," a young woman said.

When it was announced that the rat-infested Qortin landfill would be closed on May 1, WasteServ said it was embarking on a rodent control programme to prevent the pests from migrating.

When contacted, Xaghra mayor Anthony Attard said WasteServ was controlling the problem, while the council was monitoring the situation.

"Once the landfill has been closed there will be a temporary period of inconvenience. Of course seeing rats in the street is not a pleasant sight and we are doing our utmost to minimise the problem," he said.

Mr Attard said that on Friday morning the council had collected the dead rats which littered the street and disposed of them.