An ongoing ‘pest’ problem in Pembroke is causing such concern for residents that they daren’t leave their windows or doors open for fear of ‘day dwelling’ rats inviting themselves in.One resident of Strongbow Walk, told the Observer that he believes there must be “thousands” of the rodents crawling around a strip of Pembrokeshire County Council land, that was formerly a park, where local childen still play.“The problem has been ongoing for three years, and I’ve been complaining to the county council on and off over this time,” explained John Smith.“We’ve had inspectors down who have agreed that it is a disgrace. The rat catchers from pest control have put poison down, but the rats seem to have become immune to it and are just feeding on what is being left.“One lady who lives on her own on the street with two young children, had a doctor call around there the other day who said to her ‘do you know you’ve got three rats playing on your patio!’... the rats have become day dwellers, so she daren’t open her windows or doors at the moment!” he continued.Mr. Smith said that the problem seemed to stem from a big gap of land alongside the terraced houses, which is council owned, and once was a park.“The land has become so overgrown and has now become a fly-tipping hotspot, with all sorts being dumped there,” he said.

“Children play there, so they could be picking up all kinds of infections or diseases, and if nothing is done, then there will be a fatality!”Luckily, Mr. Smith’s two Jack Russell dogs seem to have had better luck in keeping the rats away than the council, he told us.“PCC know about how bad the problem is, and inspectors have put traps down, and again poison this month, but the matter is just ongoing and getting worse, and not enough is being done to prevent it. “Rats can breed as many as 2,000 a year, so there must be thousands of them down there.“It seems to be a case of out of sight, out of mind for them!” he added.When asked about the matter, a spokesperson for Pembrokeshire County Council said: “The only reported instance of a rat problem in Strongbow Walk, Pembroke, was in relation to a property in 2015 that was quickly dealt with, and we responded to another earlier this month.”