Submitted by a Wansted Society member and local resident:
“Hey, chaps, there’s a load of litter in the bins tonight! There’s no-one on the Green, so let’s go along and poke around and see what we can find. There’s sure to be a few chips and even the odd bit of chicken – or best of all, some cheese – much tastier that underground cables! And if some foxes come along and want to butt in, we’ll just show them our teeth and they’ll soon scarpa. Are you ready, chaps? Come on, let’s go!”
Seriously, I dare say this could easily happen if something drastic isn’t done about the rats which not only I, but others have seen, even in day-light. It seems to me that there is every likelihood of a link between the lack and poor design of the bins overflowing with litter and any creatures that want to explore them. In June 2009 a letter I wrote to the local paper about the lack and poor design of the bins on the Green was used as a basis for an article; the paper made its own enquiry and was told that people should take their litter home with them.
Perhaps the way to change the public’s expectation that litter bins will be there, is to remove them completely – then we would really find out what people would do with their rubbish! Since that article, nothing has changed; no-one responsible seems to have given the problem a second thought. In the meantime, the rats flourish on their pickings!