Lochgelly man loses dog after rat problem at Morrisons

Harry Callaghan, who lives next to the shop on Lumphinnans Road, says that the retailer's attempts to deal with the vermin also resulted in damage to his garden wall.

He said this happened after workmen tried to dig down to the holes where the rodents were.

Mr Callaghan explained: “It was two or three months ago, we were infested with rats and they had to close the store down.

“So they [workmen] came and they started digging holes with a kango (drill) down the side of my garden wall and I said to them, ‘what are you doing, you’re loosening the cement in my wall.’

“They said, ‘No we will be fine.”

It could cost £2,500 to repair the wall. (Image: Harry Callaghan)

After this, he said the workmen blocked the hole at the store, which meant that the rats ended up finding their way into Mr Callaghan’s garden and house, and he had to put poison into his cupboards to try and get rid of them.

He said two feet of cement was laid from one end of the store to the other without leaving room for it to expand.

Mr Callaghan claimed this then caused his garden wall to lean over, and subsequently fall down in strong winds.

He added: “I said to them 'I hope you know concrete expands, but they just weren’t listening.”

Heartbreakingly, Mr Callaghan’s dog Rio chased one of the rats that got into his home and, he didn't know it at the time, ate it.

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He told the Times: “I didn’t know he had caught it and within a day, two days, my dog stopped eating.”

Rio was taken to the vet where he was given an injection to stop him from throwing up, but he had to return to the vet's days later, and sadly had to be put down.

“I came out of there and I couldn’t see for crying.

“I had that dog for nearly eight years, it was like my son.”

The damage was reported to Morrisons Head Office. (Image: Harry Callaghan) He has looked into having the wall repaired but has been quoted £2,500 by a builder to do so.

“That’s £2,500 I don’t have.

“I am not in the best of health, but Morrisons don’t care.”

A spokesperson for Morrisons said: "We are in contact with Mr Callaghan and will be working to resolve the issue as soon as possible."

Lisa McCann, Fife Council Environmental Health Service Manager, confirmed the local authority had worked with the shop owners in 2023 to address a rodent infestation at the premises adding: "Our pest control team also dealt with a rat problem in a residential property in the area, at around the same time. 

"We've not had any further instances reported to us since then."