Carmarthenshire county council are facing calls to reinstate their pest control service after Ammanford councillor Deian Harries was left “shocked” by the experience of a 94-year-old widow living in the town.

Last week’s Guardian reported how the partiallyblind pensioner had been left traumatised after rats ate her out of house and home. The county council axed their pest control service in April 2011 as part of the huge cutbacks the local authority is facing.

“I visited the lady this week and I couldn’t believe her account of rats gnawing her doors and in her bed,”

Cllr Harries told members of Ammanford town council.

“The smell wasn’t pleasant and she had tomove out for three weeks.”

He added that the woman had been charged over £200 by a private pest controller, only to subsequently learn she could have bought the same poison from Wilkinson’s for £3.80. “I believe a solution should be found by the council to provide this service at a cost, but not at the level these companies are charging,” added Cllr Harries.

Fellow county councillor Colin Evans, executive board member for street scene and technical services, said: “Personally I have some empathy, because of the significant public health issues involved.”