Invasion of the..GIANT RATS

Pest controller catches animals the size of dogs

- LUCY THORNTON and SAMUEL PORT

RATS have become the size of dogs and fearless around humans, a pest controller warns.

Kieran Sampler, who has dealt with 50,000 rodents, says they have got braver and infestations worse since the pandemic when fewer exterminators were operating.

He said the biggest he caught was 22in from head to tail, double the size of a chihuahua.

The size of most are now around one and a half foot, he reckons.

At one farm he had to deal with a plague of thousands.

The dad, 29, warned: "Rats are getting bigger, bolder and more brazen. They're less bothered about humans, cats or anything."

Kieran, who has studied their behaviour for seven years, said more food waste on the streets has not helped with infestations.