Concern as colony of rats '˜takes over' Eastbourne pond

Resident Margaret Morrison was shocked to see scores of the rodents ‘taking over’ the park when she visited at the weekend.

She said, “The ducks and swans are stressed with the excessive rat population - people throw too much bread and food so rats take over!

“They are all around the pond. In that area there seems to be a heavy population of them. They don’t seem to mind people, they were scurrying all over.”

Westham pond upset continues

Mrs Morrison, who visits the park regularly, said signs need to be put in place to remind people not to overfeed the birds.

She said, “People need to learn. It’s got much worse recently, but if people are constantly littering they are going to be there.”

She also said, “And they mustn’t give ducks bread because it’s bad for them. Their bones don’t develop properly and they can’t fly.

“People throw huge chunks and the seagulls come screeching down to get it.

“The decoy pond ducks are not used to eating lettuce, someone dumped a whole load of chopped lettuce and carrots, and it all sat there.

“I have seen people throwing peas in to the ducks but they ignored those. Some people have put lots of rolled oats which has also sat there for the rats.”

She also drew attention to the pond’s resident terrapins, believed to be former pets left in the pond, which she said had been known to harm ducklings.