TERRIFIED residents of a Ryedale village claim an infestation of rats is making them prisoners in their own homes.

Householders in High Street, Barton-le-Street, near Malton, say they have seen rats scurrying around in gardens, inside rubbish bins and, in at least one case, inside a house.

The problems have arisen since environmental health staff from Ryedale District Council started laying poison elsewhere in the village.

Anne Povey said: "We're keeping our doors shut and we're just terrified to go out."

Her neighbour, Angie Pratt, found a baby rat in her house, as well as a half-dead one outside and another measuring at least eight inches long in her bin.

Ms Povey, a nurse, said a footnote in the community notice was the only information villagers had received about poison being used to kill rats which were believed to have bred in a highways drain and on farmland.

She said the rats were scavenging in rubbish bags and called for wheelie bins to be provided as soon as possible.

"As long as there's a food supply, short of having the Pied Piper of Hamelin, we are all going to be prisoners in our own homes."

Ms Povey is now urging villagers to sign a petition telling Ryedale they should have been given more formal notice of the pest problem, and advice on eliminating the infestation.

She said: "The laying down of rat poison does pose a threat to small children and to domestic pets. Rat traps should, therefore, be supplied for residential areas."

Ms Povey added: "The health and safety of residents of Barton-le-Street is being compromised and we require urgent action."

Mother-of-four Karen Ventress, who lives next door but one, said her husband, Paul, had caught a large rat which appeared to have been poisoned.

Mrs Ventress, who has lived in the village for 11 years without seeing a rat until now, said: "I want my children to be able to be safe when they go out and play in the back garden."

Environmental health officer Tony Stuttard said staff had made three visits to Barton-le-Street to date and would return on Tuesday."If we are carrying out a treatment, I would imagine we would get on top of it fairly quickly.

"It does take a few days. You can't get an instantaneous kill of all of the rats within the area."

Mr Stuttard added: "I don't think there's any need for people to keep their children indoors in any event. We only put poison down where it can't be reached by pets and children."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.