A fatal warning has been issued after a 22-inch rat found in a U.K. home has been described as ‘one of the biggest’ ever found in the country.
A rat ‘as big as a dog’ has been found in a North Yorkshire home, and has triggered an urgent warning from councilors within the area who believe the problem is only worsening.
The dead rat is thought to be one of the biggest ever found in the U.K., and was nesting inside the house.
The size can be compared to five tins of beans lined up, end to end.
How exactly it got there remains unclear, but sightings in nearby back alleys raised concern amongst locals.
Councilors in the North Yorkshire area, David Taylor and Stephen Martin, suggest that the problem is only getting worse, urging the local council (Redcar and Cleveland) to act fast.
Taylor noted that bins in the area are ‘overflowing,’ which only encourages rodents and pests to make it their home.
Speaking to local reporters, Taylor expressed: “The longer this is ignored, the worse it will get. It is a growing problem.”
He had been told by experts that a typical sewer rat could actually get this big.
The councilor added: “They’ll keep multiplying, and unless there is a big cull in the area, people will keep experiencing this.”
A spokesperson for the council responded to the issue, with a statement which read: “The council has a dedicated pest control officer who manages pest issues on council-owned land.
“While we no longer provide a wider pest control service, we do offer advice to residents where possible.”
Taylor likened the size of the rat to a ‘small cat’ or dog, after it was revealed that the average rat is around 6-11 inches long.
Speaking to IGV, Tony King, a pest control expert, warned that rats in the U.K. are only getting bigger.
He said: “There is growing evidence that rats in the U.K. are, as a whole, becoming larger.
“The presence of high-calorie rubbish food, especially in cities, allows rats to develop more rapidly and grow larger.”
But he also warned that rats carry diseases that can cause fatal issues for humans.
The expert added: “Rats carry some lethal diseases that could be transmitted to humans, mostly if droppings, urine, or saliva come into contact with food or water.
“Leptospirosis is the most deadly, which progresses to Weil’s disease – a fatal infection that renders the liver and kidneys ill.”
As the warning continued, he said: “The larger rats are more aggressive when cornered, so they pose a higher risk of bites, especially to pets or curious children.
“They produce more feces, and a single rat can deposit thousands of droppings per year, which end up on surfaces and food.”
