KIND-HEARTED people in Staindrop may inadvertently be the source of a vermin problem.
The alarm about rat infestations in parts of the village was first raised during Staindrop Parish Council’s meeting in December, but it has since emerged that the problem may be caused by people who are being over enthusiastic when leaving food out for birds.
Parish clerk Judith Mashiter reported during the council’s January meeting that she had been in touch with the county’s environmental health department, which had said it could write a letter to residents providing them with “six golden rules” on how to feed birds in a way that does not attract rats.
Chairman Cllr David Reed said complaints had been received along North Green, Moor Road, Gregory Close and South Green. He said: “There has been a lot of people complaining about seeing rats in the village. Well, we don’t know [if bird feeding is the cause]. You don’t know where rats come from, but that could be one of the problems. There could be a hole in the sewer, we just don’t know.
“It is just common sense; we are saying don’t put too much out. We are not saying don’t feed birds.”
Reciting the six golden rules, Mrs Mashiter said: “Don’t put out too much food; keep moving it, don’t keep it in the same place; keep it off the ground if possible; keep it clean; use special anti-squirrel bird feeders; and don’t leave food out overnight.”
She revealed that some of the information sent by the county council had an international source and had probably been lifted off the internet – much to the bemusement of the parish council. She said: “Very strangely, they also sent this little flyer called ‘birdfeeders and rats’. This is from Durham County Council’s environment department – it is published in 2009 by The Seattle and King County environmental health services, in America.
“I just thought they have spelled ‘neighbor’ wrong, and then I went through it all [and discovered who published it].”
![A COUNTY councillor is backing a campaign to get a pedestrian crossing in Staindrop. Frustrated parish councillors in the village summoned their county council representative Cllr George Richardson to their latest meeting to discuss several issues, including the call for a safe way to cross the A688. Earlier this year their request for a crossing was turned down by the county council’s highways officers. Parish council chairman Jonothan Raper described the reasons for the refusal as “spurious” and called on Cllr Richardson to support their campaign. He added: “One of the arguments they made was there is no clear line of desire when they studied the village – well this isn’t a clear line of desire because there isn’t a crossing, people cross whenever they can. “When the lollipop person was there, one of the things I noticed was people would walk all the way down to the lollipop person to cross the road to go to the shop or to go to the school.” He added a problem of parking at the primary school is exacerbated because people are too afraid to walk their children across the road. Cllr Richardson said he had supported previous attempts for a crossing point with the first being made about 15 years ago. He added: “We went fairly well down the road with that and they looked into it. The only recommended place was where the bus stop is and to get the visibility splays, people on the other side of the road would lose their parking. “That didn’t go down well so it just died a death.” Cllr Raper said he suspected the real reason for the officers’ refusal was the cost of installing a crossing. He added that much of the cost could be recovered from savings made on not having to employ a lollipop patrol. Cllr Raper said: “A lollipop person only provides a benefit of crossing for three hours of the day. You are getting 21 extra hours of crossing time [with a pedestrian crossing].” Cllr Richardson said he would raise the issue with the county council’s cabinet member for highways, Cllr John Shuttleworth.](https://teesdalemercury.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/georgeR-120x86.jpg)
