Warning over rat poison in street (From Gazette Series)

Warning over rat poison in street

RAT poison found in a street in Dursley is thought to have been responsible for the deaths of a number of birds and police are concerned for the welfare of children and pets.

Police have appealed for the help of the public after finding grain laced with the poison in Parsonage Street on several occasions over recent weeks.

The dangerous mix has been found outside shops and underneath a bench, most recently on Monday, May 23.

It is believed to have been responsible for the deaths of several birds in the town and police are concerned for the welfare of young children and dogs that also use the street.

Wildlife officer Mark Robson, a civilian employee of Gloucestershire police, urged those responsible for putting down the rat poison to stop immediately.

"Put simply this is a significant health hazard," he said, "If a young child or a dog ingests some of this material while they are in Parsonage Street the results could be disastrous.

"We would urge anyone with information relating to who could be responsible for this to get in touch as soon as possible."

Mayor of Dursley, Cllr Jane Ball, said that it was awful that somebody had acted so thoughtlessly in putting out the poison.

She said: "The pigeons are not really welcome in the town but there are far more humane ways of dealing with the problem.

"If anybody has a serious problem with the birds then they should contact the proper authorities, not take matters into their own hands."

Anyone who may have information about the person or persons responsible is asked to call police on 0845 0901234 quoting incident 134 of May 23 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.