Bellahouston on a mission to bin the rubbish

The school has an active anti–litter campaign and pupils, supervised by teachers and community safety personnel, undertake regular litter pick-up sessions.

Now, the issue is worsening and residents claim it is becoming potentially dangerous, with growing numbers of rats being seen scavenging around the tip.

One resident who lives close to the school told The Extra she saw a rat close to her home.

Saima Zafar, who has two children under school age, said: “We have never seen vermin until this tip appeared.

But we did see one close to our home and immediately called in professionals to deal with it. It’s worrying to think that kids might be playing near litter and foodwaste.”

Teacher Bushra Nizam told The Extra: “The situation is intolerable, with discarded food and wrapping all over the place. Pupils shouldn’t have to put up with this.”

She is calling for the council to rid the area of the potentially hazardous eyesore and wants to have more bins in the area or more collections.

She added: “This is not solely the school’s problem. People also need to adopt the habit of binning their rubbish. The school has been recognised in the past for its environmentally friendly policies and has gained the prestigious green flag award on two occasions, including Scottish Green Award for Best Green School.

Ian Anderson, Headteacher added: “Depositing litter is anti-social behaviour and it must stop. There is no room for this kind of behaviour in society.

”It is bad enough that the pupils have to walk by it every day to attend school.

“Food waste is attracting vermin to the area and the debris of household items deposited randomly pose a serious health and safety risk.”