Exclusive:
Rats have been seen lurking in the guard room at Windsor Castle where the King’s Guards are based, with pest control experts brought in after the problem worsened
The King’s Guards have come under attack from a giant rat infestation at Windsor Castle, The Mirror can reveal.
The royal rodents have been spotted in the troops’ guard room within the world-famous castle and pest control experts have been drafted in. It is believed the rat problem emerged several weeks ago and sources revealed some soldiers claimed the rats had tried to bite them.
The problem worsened at the weekend during a change-over shift of the guards and traps have been laid down for the rats. The Mirror understands the soldiers currently protecting the King are from the 1st Battalion, The Welsh Guards.
One military source told the Daily Mirror: “A team of Guards was briefed over the weekend about the rat infestation shortly after the current team took over. Before the current Guards took over duty, the previous incumbents had trouble with these rats.
“They have been crawling around trying to bite people. Since pest control has been here they have put down traps but it hasn’t done anything. This should not be happening as it is a royal residency – if this were anywhere else like a hotel, a school or a workplace it would be shut down.
“People pay money to come to this castle. And the troops shouldn’t have to be living in a room filled with rats.” Sources revealed the rat nightmare is being “monitored” by pest control experts but that it was now “under control.”
The MoD said in a statement: “We are committed to ensuring our service personnel have the high-quality working environments they rightly deserve, with any reports of pests dealt with as quickly as possible.” Problems such as the rat infestation have emerged after 14 years of previous Tory government defence cuts, leading to complaints of a poor troop working environment.
A major defence review looking into the UK military has been ordered by the new government’s Defence Secretary John Healey. Mr Healey is believed to be committed to improving troop welfare as a means to encourage retention in the Army – which has declined under the Tories.
Windsor Castle is one of three official residences of The King and has been home to the Sovereign for over 900 years. Guarding the King traditionally belongs to the Household Troops, better known as ‘the Guards’, who have carried out this duty since 1660.
Sometimes this privilege is periodically extended to other regiments of the British Army. The Guards consist of five infantry regiments – the Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots, Irish and Welsh Guards – and two regiments of the Household Cavalry – the Life Guards and Blues and Royals. Most of the Guards battalions have fought with distinction overseas in war zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan.
