COUNCIL charges for rodent control in Hambleton district are to be scrapped immediately following concern that they have been deterring the public from seeking expert treatment.

The council cabinet yesterday unanimously agreed with a recommendation by the cultural and social scrutiny committee that the controversial £25 charge introduced on April 1, subject to a review after six months, should be dropped to ensure the health and safety of the community.

The committee found that there had been a significant fall in requests for domestic rodent treatments since charges were introduced, there could be health and safety problems because people were trying to undertake their own treatments rather than having to pay, and there were more reports from parish councils about sightings of rats.

The committee, which had been asked to review the effects of charging by the cabinet in July, took evidence from environmental health officers and two Thirsk residents who said they were unhappy about charges and had tried their own rodent treatments.

Committee chairman Coun John Coulson told the cabinet yesterday that the issue had been examined in depth and a serious problem had been found.

"The committee found hard evidence that inexperienced people were just buying and using various types of bait, which could lead to all sorts of problems, and not knowing what to do with a dead animal when they found it. It all has to be done correctly.

"The committee found that there was a health and safety issue and a serious problem. Charges should be taken away immediately because more experienced people on our committee had evidence that rodents start coming into buildings and homes seeking warmth.

"The evidence is there, it is quite serious and charges for all rodent treatments should be withdrawn with immediate effect in the interests of health and safety."

Cabinet member Coun John Fletcher said: "Sometimes we don't get things right and we have not got it right this time."

Coun Arthur Barker, the chairman, said the issue showed the value of scrutiny committees and told members: "This is leaving a shortfall in the budget, but there was going to a shortfall anyway because there was not the take-up."

Health officers told the committee that in the first three months after the introduction of charges there had been only 63 treatments for rats and 28 for mice compared with 128 and 38 respectively over the same period last year.

When the £25 charge was introduced, based on about 950 treatments a year, it was estimated that an annual income of £23,750 would be generated for the council. If the reduced take-up continued over a whole year, however, there would be an estimated shortfall of £14,650.