Rat crackdown made in Gosforth Central Park in Newcastle

Park bosses say that they are taking “extensive” action to combat the vermin in Gosforth Central Park.

It follows complaints in October over the huge rats, some of which were compared to the size of cats, taking over the park and “ruining” it for families.

Urban Green Newcastle, the charity which runs the city’s green spaces, said its rangers were removing potential nesting spots for the rats as well as running an “extensive bait and trapping exercise”.

Gosforth Central Park in Newcastle (Image: LDR)

At a Newcastle City Council meeting last week, former councillor Brian Moore warned that the park had been “overrun”.

Mr Moore, who now leads the North East Party, said that it was only a “matter of time” before a child becomes “dangerously ill” through contact with the vermin.

A spokesperson from Urban Green Newcastle told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “Following reports from local councillors in Gosforth and park users about recent rat sightings in Gosforth Central Park, we have been working closely with Newcastle City Council Pest Control team to address the issue. An extensive bait and trapping exercise is currently under way, and we will be reviewing how effective it has been with the Pest Control team before implementing any further activity early in the new year.

“To make the park less appealing for rats, our park rangers – with the support of the Friends of Gosforth Central Park – are removing brash (a mix of wood and treetop branches that often collects in and around trees) from the park as this can be a popular place for rats to nest in. We’re also working in partnership with local councillors in Gosforth and Gosforth Shopping Centre on a planned information campaign for local businesses and residents about how they can help keep the rat population down in the area.

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“Whilst rats will always be a natural part of the wildlife population in the city, we are aiming to significantly reduce the numbers recently seen in Gosforth Central Park.

"We’d like to thank park users for their help by continuing to use the bins provided on site, and helping keep the park free from litter.”

Mr Moore had called for the council and Urban Green to eradicate the rats, increase the number of bins in the park, and empty them more regularly.

Labour councillor Marion Williams, the authority’s cabinet member responsible for waste, said that high-tech sensors installed on the park’s bins had “greatly” reduced the instances of litter overflowing and showed that the current collection frequency is sufficient.