Reports of rat poison ‘dumped in river’ in Bury St Edmunds

Reports have been made of rat poison being dumped in the River Linnet in Bury St Edmunds.

St Edmundsbury Borough Council and the Environment Agency received reports yesterday that rat poison had been dumped in the river.

The Bury Free Press had been told by members of the public that a dog had died after ingesting the poison on a popular route for dog walkers - along the River Linnet behind Maltwood Avenue.

Neither the council or the Environment Agency were able to confirm this.

A spokesman for St Edmundsbury Borough Council said its customer service team received a call yesterday morning from someone concerned that ‘rat poison had been dumped in the river directly’.

“Our advice to her was to contact the Environment Agency,” he said.

A spokeswoman for the Environment Agency confirmed it had received a report of rat poison being dumped in Bury, which it had passed on to the council.

“The local authority will be leading on any investigation into this,” she said.

Nigel Swayne, of Swayne and Partners veterinary surgery in Western Way, Bury, said he was not aware of any recent incidents of animals being injured in this way and that it was common practice for the town’s vets to warn each other if they dealt with any such case.

“We haven’t, to my knowledge, seen anything in Bury from this point of view,” he said.