Britain could soon be overrun with rats as mild weather and an ever-ready supply of scraps causes the rodent population to explode.

Experts warned last night (Sept 16, 2000) that the number of rats roaming both in urban and rural areas of Britain could reach an all-time high if this winter is mild.

The problem is considered so serious that a special forum has been set up to address pest infestation. The advisory group, made up of local authority officers and rodent experts, met for the first time last week to try and come up with a cohesive pest control policy.

Insiders say a lack of Government guidelines has made it difficult to tackle pest control issues in the past and they hope the forum will provide a standard practice needed to deal with the problem.

The UK rat population now stands at over 70 million - meaning there are more rats than people living in Britain, according to Rentokil Pest Control. In Edinburgh a pack of super-rats as big as cats has pushed the capital's rodent population to about eight million in the past six months.

Rentokil Pest Control spokesman Jeffrey Roberts said: "Rats have continued to breed throughout the mild winters we have been experiencing and if we get another mild one this year we will have major problems."

Rentokil has experienced an increase in call-outs of up to 20 per cent on last year across the country. In some ares complaints have nearly doubled, Mr. Roberts said. According to rat expert Dr. Steven Havers, an increase in fast-food outlets, free-range livestock enterprises and an apathetic attitude to rats' existence are also to blame.

Dr. Havers, a rodent consultant for the British Pest Control Association, said that every group of pigs wandering freely in a field will be sharing their food with a colony of rats.

"If you were to walk round a grain store you would be horrified, bearing in mind that rats and mice carry diseases such as leptospirosis or weil's disease." he said. "People might think that this situation paints a pretty bleak picture but that's what it is." Wel's disease attacks the central nervous system, and up to 20 people suffer from it every year. Dogs can die from the disease if they drink stagnant water.

A spokesman for the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, the umbrella organisation which represents environmental health officers, confirmed that a mild winter could lead to a rise in rats.

Thanks to the World Health Organisation
for much of this information.