Wedding venue in Orkney closed to deal with rat infestation

A town hall and wedding venue in Orkney could be closed into next year in a bid to tackle a rat infestation.

Orkney Islands Council said as well as putting down traps, pest controllers were having to "strip back" the kitchen and remove other internal fittings in the Stromness building to assess "the extent of the damage" caused by the rodents.

Garry Burton, the council's head of active communities, said they hoped the former church would be back in use in January.

"Initial investigations have found damage to pipework in the kitchen and we suspect there may be some internal damage to the walls as well," he said.

He added that the council had acted "quickly and decisively" once the rat problem was identified, but it would now take time to "assess and rectify the damage".

The issue came to light when a rat was spotted by cleaning staff last week, the council said.

The hall is used by a number of community events, and is also used to hold concerts and weddings.

The council said people due to use the hall - including those with upcoming weddings - had been contacted and offered the use of Stromness Academy.

One of the weddings impacted was that of Manus Parkinson and Charlie Fender from Stromness, who were due to get married in the hall last Saturday.

Parkinson told BBC Orkney they received a "frantic" call from their wedding planner last Wednesday advising them of the infestation.

Bride Charlie added she wasn't initially "a massive fan" of having her wedding in the school they both went to but it all turned out well in the end.

The newlyweds said they were able to see the "funny side quite quickly" and played the UB40 song Rat in Mi Kitchen at the reception and one comedic guest even brought a toy rat with them.

The Stromness Town Hall was built in 1890–92 by Samuel Baikie and became known as the North Kirk.

After ecclesiastical use ended, the building was adapted as a public hall.