WITH reference to pest control service possibly being axed in council cuts, this seems illogical in the present climate with the war on infectious diseases being a constant threat (The Press, October 8).

Prevention is better than cure when it comes to health and hygiene, especially on the domestic front.

With the onset of winter, reports of an infestation of rats and other rodents by residents are only a doorstep away, encouraged by food and waste disregarded either in the street or in back gardens.

This does not exclude wasps' nests or bats in the belfry, so to speak. I would rather be stung by the council for payment to remove the offenders than by any other predator.

The plague called the Black Death throughout Europe in 1347 was deemed at the time to have been brought in by ships carrying infested rats and thousands died. The saving grace in halting the spread was the Great Fire of London.

Along with the strides made in medical science, the recent global outbreak of Ebola gives pause for thought as regards our NHS services. Forget politics and relate to one of Churchill’s wartime speeches: “Give us the tools and we will finish the job.”

Kenneth Bowker, Vesper Walk, Huntington, York.