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42
Sewers
In addition to the servicing of the surface infestations, two Sewer Maintenance
treatments were given in the periods 6th to 11th and 20th to 25th January, 1947,
and 2nd to 10th and 16th to 23rd June, 1947, when 413 manholes were treated in
each maintenance treatment in accordance with the Ministry of Agriculture and
Fisheries (Infestation Branch) circular.
The treatment consisted of
2 days Pre-baiting, 1 day Poison bait laying.
Owing to the long and dry summer experienced in 1947, careful watch was
kept upon the sewers; and after a series of complaints were investigated a quick
build-up of the sewer rat population was suspected and a decision was made to
bring forward the next maintenance treatment a month earlier and this third
maintenance treatment was carried out in the period 1st to 9th and 15th to 23rd
December, 1947.
The early tackling of this problem justified itself when recording of the poison
"takes" showed that 2,380 ozs. of poison bait had been eaten by the sewer rat
population.

Finance
Charges made upon occupiers of business premises were on the following scale :—
I Point shall include 5 Baits
Basic charge included 1 point or 5 Baits £1 10s. 0d.
Each point (5 Baits) after the 1st up to 8 points (40 Baits) £1 10s. 0d.
Each point (5 Baits) after 8 points 5s. 0d.
The Agreements (H.D.R.3 B.P.) received and charged to Business
premises during the period 1st January to 31st December, 1947,
amounted to £1,499 0s. 0d.
No charge was made for dwellings.
THE FOOD AND DRINK INFECTIONS
The serious risk of the spread of infection by food handlers is illustrated by the
following figures taken from the Ministry of Health records and which show the