A RESIDENT who is “sick and tired” of the “disgusting” state of land behind his address which he says is causing rats to enter his home has called for action to be taken.

Rick Ford, from the town centre, said the issue has been ongoing for some time and nothing has been done about it.

The site includes a cobbled area and vegetation behind it.

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Mr Ford says he did not know who is responsible for the land but says it is blighting his and neighbours’ daily lives.

He added rodents coming into his home has been a regular occurrence and his efforts to have something done about it have gone nowhere, with him so far being unable to find out who owns the land.

Fly-tipped rubbish at the siteFly-tipped rubbish at the site (Image: St Helens Star)

“It’s at the back of my house, I don’t know who owns the land,” said Rick, 54.

“It is like a jungle, Tarzan would have a field day.

“I have tried to phone my MP and contact the council and I am getting nowhere.

“It is overrun with vermin and rats, I have had two rats in three days this week in my bathroom and it is getting worse.”

Mr Ford says the state of the site has led to rats entering propertiesMr Ford says the state of the site has led to rats entering properties (Image: St Helens Star)

Mr Ford added: “I don’t know if it’s the council who owns it, and there’s a number of takeaways nearby.

“I am sick and tired of seeing dead rats everywhere. Something needs to be done about it.

“Rent is going up, it shouldn’t be like this, people need to be aware.

“It is disgusting. When it is winter, it’s worse, it needs sorting out. It’s absolutely disgusting, it really is.”

St Helens Council statement

When the Star approached St Helens Borough Council, a spokeswoman said that the cobbled section of land is 'adopted' highway, which is under the remit of the local authority and that they have made arrangements to clear the waste from the site, though added the green vegetation at the site is unadopted land.

The spokeswoman added: "Fly-tipping is a disgusting action that impacts the lives of so many people, wastes taxpayers' money in clean up costs that could be better spent on delivering other services and is a nuisance.

"We would always recommend people report issues of fly-tipping through the council’s website so that we can take appropriate action.

"We’d also encourage anyone having issues with vermin to contact our environmental health team who provide pest control services who can provide support to clear the problem, which can also be contacted through our website."