I refer to the story about West Dorset District Council pest control outsourcing (Fear for standard of pest control service', Echo, September 16).

I read with interest the quote from the UNISON spokesman stating that they believe that a privately-run pest control service will not show the same diligence as the council run service.

This union remark is spoken without a shred of supporting evidence and is quoted purely as a scare mongering tactic.

I run my own sole trader pest control company based in Dorchester and although I am not bidding for any parts of the council contract I do believe that the UNISON slur on private pest control should not go unchallenged.

Pest Control is one of the most highly regulated service sectors, and the regulations apply equally to both the private and public sector.

New legislation is imposed frequently and the private sector has to adapt and absorb these additional costs without the benefit of resorting to the local council tax payers to pay them.

They do this through increased efficiency and a lack of a bureaucratic overburden, not through reducing standards or failing to fulfil their legal obligations.

Robin Elford, Proprietor, Proactive Pest Prevention, Dorchester.