Residents of Millisle recently came together to clear litter and seaweed from their local beach, following a community cleanup organised earlier this month by Deborah Mann.

But residents said beach continued to be plagued by large rats.

Ards and North Down Borough Council has now confirmed plans to use poison and target areas where rodent activity is believed to be high.

In a statement on social media, the council said: “Following growth in the rodent population at Millisle Beach, a pest control programme will begin on Thursday 21 August and run for 2-3 weeks.

“Poison bait will be used on the site to target known burrows.

“Signage will be in place to advise beach users and Council Officers will be visiting the site over the coming days to engage with beach users and give advice.”

Visitors are advised to keep pets on a leash, supervise children at all times, take any food waste away and not feed the birds.

The council advised contacting the Emergency Department – or a vet for pets – if accidental poisoning occurs.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph earlier this month, Deborah explained how members of the local community worked “tirelessly” to clean up the town.

A resident of Millisle for over 40 years, Deborah was prompted by her husband Gary to post a notice on Facebook to organise a village beach clean.

Efforts to tidy the beach then moved on to improving the general surroundings, with John McLean (80) taking to weeding the surrounding area.

However, despite their good intentions to clean up the beach, they initially received pushback from the council.

Grievances were initially raised due to environmental issues and wildlife concerns

“The beach is now infested with rats. Council kept saying it is not allowed to be touched because it is an environmental issue,” she said.

“About a week later a couple of the guys decided to get together and de-weed the whole Main Street, it was also cleared of rubbish. They tirelessly worked for hours.

“A few days after that, a few professional painters gave up their time and painted a couple of derelict buildings.”

Deborah added: “I then started a GoFundMe, within two days it went from a £400 target to £3,400. Every single penny is going towards the cleaning and restoration efforts.

“The council has actually given us the bags now to help clean up.”