IT’s the story that has made national news, and now even a high profile presenter and DJ (no, not Roland!) has had his own say on Tenby’s seaside ‘rat problem’ - with Chris Evans taking to his popular 'Breakfast Show' saying he ‘quite likes’ the rodents!!

Since the Tenby Observer highlighted concerns last week amongst local councillors and harbour workers regarding ‘rats the size of cats’ being responsible for such extensive tunnelling that one of the coastal town’s cliffs overlooking the resort’s popular Castle Beach has become unstable, the story has made national headlines in the past few days, with TV coverage and newspapers shining a spotlight on the subject.

TV and radio personality Chris Evans, who was one of the last hosts to bring the famous Radio 1 Roadshow to Tenby’s South Beach back in the summer of 1996, was discussing the day’s headlines on his show on Monday morning, when he confessed to one one of his co-presenters: “Tenby cliffs plagued by cat sized rats, say residents - this maybe a thing, but I quite like rats!” laughed Chris.

“I think rats are very clean nowadays, no I think rats in general are clean, don’t they have very good hygiene?” he continued, before debating whether they were actually to blame for the bubonic plague, spreading the ‘Black Death’ around Europe in the 14th century.

The Local Authority has since moved to warn people against feeding gulls and dropping food waste in the area, as video footage on social media of a large number of rats burrowing into the rocks on Castle Hill went viral.

County Councillor for the town’s North ward, Cllr Michael Williams first told the Observer last week that he’d ‘never seen such an infestation’ as what has occurred on the cliff faces at Castle Hill - calling upon Pembrokeshire County Council’s lead public health officer to assess the situation which has affected that area.

Rats are also reported to have become more and more noticeable in the floral area overlooking the North Beach alongside one of the seaside town’s most popular viewing spots to capture a photo of one of the most snapped parts of the UK - Tenby’s picturesque harbour; as well as parts of the Paragon above South Beach.

“The rodent infestation is so considerable at Castle Hill that a large area of the cliff appears to have extensive tunnelling by rodents, which make the cliff appear unstable,” said Cllr Williams, adding that PCC’s lead public health officer Steve Morbey was due to undertake an extensive rodent baiting programme shortly around that area.

Harness trained staff are being arranged to carry out the work for the cliff face, to try and resolve the matter.

Cllr Williams said that given that he’d received reports that the cliff is becoming unstable in the same area, he has also asked the Local Authority’s head of infrastructure to carry out an inspection at the same time.

Harbour boatman Roger Miles said that ‘rats as big as cats’ had been seen in the vicinity, with the problem worsening over the last few months.

“Early evenings, dusk, early morning, there are rats all over the place really - rats as big as cats sometimes! There’s a certain area where you see parts of the cliff have been eroded.”

“It’s been going on for a long time, it’s been left alone and something needs to be done about it.”

Voicing his concerns further to the local authority, Cllr Williams pointed out other areas of the town where rodents are regularly being spotted.

“There also appears to be a major infestation opposite W H Smith in the council gardens, with extensive burrowing into the cliff area,” he stated.

A spokesperson for Pembrokeshire County Council said: “We are aware of issues with rodents and the need of additional baiting points, and are working to address this concern.

“We are using specialist staff to address the access to the cliff face: this may also allow us regular access for the future as well.

“In the meantime, we advise against anyone feeding the birds and dropping food waste - and in the first instance we are considering additional signage to reinforce this message,” they added.

Tenby’s Mayor, Cllr Sam Skyrme-Blackhall, told national newspaper the Guardian newspaper on Monday that the issue was being overblown. “We are taking action and have people out this week. We did put things in place in December,” she said.

“The issues are similar in many seaside towns. It is due to a combination of people feeding the birds – with rodents pouncing on any food left behind – tourists dropping litter, and guests in holiday homes not being careful about putting rubbish out or in the right bins. Seagulls are also notorious for ripping apart rubbish bags with food inside, which can also attract rats.

“We saw a growth in crowds and footfall during Covid and it has continued since. We are the jewel in the crown of Pembrokeshire, so we have always had a lot of visitors, but there have been more since then. There are members of the public who feed the birds, which feeds the rats. They think they are being kind but it’s not helping the issue at all,” continued the Mayor.

“[Also] people are not being responsible and not disposing of their rubbish in the right place, so they are putting food waste in their general rubbish, and the rats find it.

“We have a team who deal with such problems and they started using the baiting system which they have previously used. They are doing an amazing job. The problem is being eradicated as we speak. Yes there have been issues but nothing on the volume that has been out there, and as far as we are aware, the rats have been taking the bait.”