Beachgoers were left gobsmacked after dozens of dead rats washed up at a popular beauty spot in Italy – some families were forced to ‘flee’ from the beach
Brits travelling to an adored holiday destination in Italy have been warned of beach rats.
Shocking footage filmed by sunbathers showed ‘dozens of rat carcasses’ sprawled along the shore in the Amalfi Coast. According to local media, families were forced to ‘flee’ the beach without their belongings at Torrione, near Salerno.
It comes after fierce storms disrupted beauty spots and pushed waste into the sea, leaving rubbish and rodents in holiday hotspots on August 18. Francesco Emilio Borrelli, MP for the Green-Left Alliance, revealed holidaymakers were having to remove the remains themselves. He said: “Dozens of rat carcasses have invaded Torrione beach in Salerno. Only days earlier, bathers at Mercatello were forced to drag several dead rats from the sea themselves.”
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Regional councillor Aurelio Tommasetti, of the Lega party, also condemned the scenes, reports DailyGoat. He said: “We thought we had seen everything, but now even rat carcasses dumped into the sea by storm-swollen streams, as reported in the press and shown in videos that spread instantly online.
“The spectacle speaks for itself and has sparked the indignant reaction of citizens and tourists, literally forced to flee the beaches to avoid these remains.”
He continued: “This is not only a matter of urban decorum but also of hygiene and health. Who can guarantee the cleanliness of the sea at Pastena, Torrione and Mercatello in light of these discoveries, some even made by children?”
Mr Tommasetti linked the emergency directly to the storm that recently flooded Salerno. He said: “All this happens just after the storm that flooded and paralysed the city, swelling the streams that carried the carcasses into the sea.
“It is too late to talk about clean-up now — action should have been taken earlier.”
This comes after the discovery of a colossal 22-inch rat which triggered urgent warnings from councillors.
The dead rat – thought to be one of the biggest ever found in the UK – was uncovered by a pest controller who had been called to the property in Normanby after reports of an infestation.
Said to resemble the “sewer rat”, it had been nesting inside the house, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) was told. How it got there remains unclear, but sightings in nearby back alleys had already raised alarm.
A photo of the mammoth rodent, shared online, has shocked locals – and prompted calls for sweeping action across the Redcar and Cleveland to tackle the rise in vermin.