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For a number of years, all the sewers in the borough have been
treated with poison bait, to destroy rats, twice yearly. This work had,
up to 1957, been carried out in January and June each year, coinciding
with similar treatments carried out in neighbouring boroughs. The
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food recommended in 1957 that a
new system of treatment should be introduced, which involved changing
the times of baiting to April and September each year, allowing a longer
period of time during which baits were left in the sewers, and mixing a
mould inhibitor (paranitrophenol) with the baiting material to act as a
preservative. The following table shows the results obtained during
the year, compared with the results obtained in the previous six years:-
Year Estimated number of rats killed
First treatment Second treatment
1952 5,982 4,155
1955 5,458 4,512
1954 4,142 4,667
1955 4,515 5,450
1956 4,764 4,158
1957 4,476 (January)
7,751 (April) 7,044 (September)
1958 4,945 6,617
The rodent staff deal with infestations from pests other than
rats and mice, and the following is a summary of all action taken during
the year:-
Complaints investigated 1,160
Premises inspected following complaints 1,199
Premises where rats were found 351
Premises where mice were found 515
Premises where other vermin were found 129
Premises where no infestation existed 204
Number of visits made 7,173
Number of notices served 20
Premises successfully treated 1,019
Cases in which advice only was given 39
Borough Council properties dealt with 33
Pharmacy and Poisons Act, 1933
At the end of the year the number of sellers of Part II Poisons
(other than registered pharmacists) on the list maintained by the
Council was one hundred and twenty-seven. Of this number, fifteen were
new registrations during the year.
Rag Flock and Other Filling Materials Act, 1951
This Act regulates the use of clean filling materials in
upholstered articles and other articles which are stuffed or lined.
Subject to certain exceptions, the Act makes it unlawful to use
prescribed filling materials except on premises registered by a local
authority. The exceptions are in the remaking and reconditioning of any
article or upholstering in connection with the making of railway carriages,
road vehicles, ships or aircraft. The local authority are required, on
the application of the occupier of premises, to register the premises on
payment of a registration fee of one pound. At the end of the year, there
were nineteen registered premises in the borough.
The Act further provides that no rag flock shall be delivered to
registered premises except from premises licensed for manufacturing
rag flock or used as a store for rag flock. A local authority on
receiving from the occupier of premises an application for the grant