Paisley Photographs

Well Street’s most unlikely residents have been left scrambling for a new home following the demolition of an old storage building – with dozens of rats reportedly forced to abandon their longtime residence.

For generations, the rats of Well Street had apparently lived a peaceful and reasonably comfortable existence.

They had their tunnels, their own thriving food scene – fresh apple cores seemingly available on demand – and, from their underground vantage point, a front-row seat to the comings and goings of Well Street.

But their quiet life was recently turned upside today Sunday 30th August.

The rumble of heavy machinery signalled that something was happening.

Then came the arrival of contractors, hard hats, high-visibility jackets and clipboards.

According to Reginald, a long-time Well Street resident, the rats initially thought it was simply another discarded food delivery.

“We thought it was just another delivery,” he reportedly said.

“Next thing we knew, our bins were were being removed and our home was reduced to rubble!”

From fruiterer to demolition site

The building at the centre of the drama was once a fruiterer’s shop but had, over the years, become an increasingly tired storage building with a roof ready to collapse.

Eventually described as an eyesore, the structure has now been demolished as contractors moved in with heavy machinery to clear the site.

For the human residents of Well Street, it marks another change to the streetscape.

For the rats, however, it is nothing short of a housing crisis.

The building had apparently provided shelter for a well-established underground community, with generations of rats said to have called the location home.

Emergency meeting called

With their accommodation suddenly disappearing around them, an emergency meeting was reportedly held beneath the bins behind Well Street.

Attendance was said to have been impressive, with approximately 47 rats, three confused pigeons and one particularly suspicious one-eyed alley cat turning up.

The main item on the agenda was simple:

“Where do we go now?”

Several possible relocation sites were discussed, including the old bakery around Back Sneddon Street, the bins behind the local chip shop and, somewhat ambitiously, the vaults beneath the Town Hall – although nobody had yet worked out where the secret rat entrance was.

Eventually, the meeting reportedly agreed that the community would have to look further afield.

Possible destinations included the Paisley Centre and, as one particularly desperate suggestion put it, Greggs at Ferguslie where there great uncle lived.

“We’re not pests – we’re residents!”

The displaced rodents are said to be unhappy about their sudden eviction.

“We’re not pests, we’re just hard-working, tax-paying citizens,” one unidentified rat reportedly declared.

“In cheese, of course.”

“We just want somewhere safe to raise our young and enjoy the odd banana skin in peace.”

“Well Street was our home. Don’t knock down our history!”

While there may not actually be a residents’ association for the rats of Well Street, their fictional plight provides a humorous reminder of just how dramatically Paisley’s streets can change.

Buildings that have stood for decades can disappear in a matter of days, taking with them countless memories – and, apparently, an entire underground rat community.

As the rubble is cleared and the site begins its next chapter, the rats of Well Street now face the difficult task of finding somewhere new to call home.

For Reginald and his fellow residents, the future remains uncertain.

One thing, however, is guaranteed:

Wherever there are discarded chips, overflowing bins and the occasional abandoned apple core, the Well Street rats won’t be far away.