how I make the difference

meet the rat and drains man . . .

People always feel better after a visit from Kevin Hutchinson and his team of public protection officers.
Kevin and his staff deal with blocked-up drains and sewers. They also deal with rat infestations from defective drains.
To do this they use smoke machines, cameras, dye testing, and a baiting programme to reduce or clear the infestation of rats.
"We find most people in a distressed state when we knock on their door," says Kevin, whose title is drainage supervisor.
"They have a problem and need help. When rats come up from drains and infest a house, they get in the cavity walls, beneath floorboards, and in the roof.
"Food gets eaten, and furniture, doors and household items get chewed.
There is also the problem of finding droppings around the house. The effect on the householder can be devastating.
"That's how I make the difference - I improve people's sense of well being."
Kevin and his team attend hundreds of call outs in Hull each year. They visit houses, blocks of flats, and commercial premises such as factories and shops - anywhere with drainage, sewer, or rat problems.
Blockages can be caused in a number of ways, and are dealt with using high-pressure water jetting equipment.
On a routine call, they drive to a site in a van loaded with equipment. Kitted out in safety goggles, gloves, and breathing gear, they get to work.
It's a dirty job, Kevin says, but also very challenging and rewarding.
He added: "I find sewers and drains fascinating. There is a vast labyrinth of pipe-work beneath our feet in Hull but most people hardly know it's there.
"Rats don't live in sewers, they nest above ground, but use the sewers as a means of getting about, to avoid people, and to find food. They are extremely shy of man.
"If a better food source is found in a house, they stay for shelter and eventually form a new nesting site."
Kevin and his team also have an enforcement role to ensure all defective drains are repaired, a job known as the sanitary police.

If you have a blocked drain or notice rats call 300300.