WORKERS from West Devon’s waste contractors seen pouring boiling water on rats and killing them in a video on social media have been sacked, the company has confirmed.

FCC Environment, waste contractors for West Devon Borough Council, launched a full investigation after the video appeared on Snapchat and was shared on Facebook on Tuesday afternoon.

The disturbing scenes in which you could hear rats screaming in a bin as boiling water was poured on them from a kettle with workers laughing as they did it shocked and upset viewers who had called for the instant dismissal of the staff.

FCC said in a statement today: ‘As a professional operator working to the highest standards, the company takes all reports of wrong doing seriously.

‘FCC has been made aware of a video showing distressing scenes of animal cruelty and the company is currently investigating the footage.

 ‘The business would like to make it clear that a zero-tolerance approach is taken to animal cruelty and that a full investigation is underway.

 ‘FCC Environment would like to stress that this incident was a result of the actions of a few individuals and is not condoned by the council nor FCC Environment and the business can confirm that all the individuals involved in this unacceptable incident and the filming of it are no longer with the business.’

Cllr Caroline Mott, West Devon Borough Council’s lead member for recycling and waste had previously told the Times: ‘West Devon Borough Council takes a zero-tolerance approach to animal cruelty. We are taking this video, and the distressing actions it shows, very seriously.’

FCC Environment signed a contract with South Hams District and West Devon Borough Councils to provide all waste, recycling collection and street and toilet cleaning services from April 1 2019.

FCC Environment is one of the UK’s leading resource and waste management companies collecting waste from some 1.3 million people a year in the UK.