Brace for a ‘winter of RATS’: Expert warns rodent infestation is coming after catching ’20-inch pests’

Brits have been warned to brace for a plague of rats this winter as hunters report catching rodents more than 20 inches long.

A ‘horrendous’ infestation is underway following a period of hot summer weather and fast food waste that has created optimal conditions for vermin to thrive.

The founder of the Yorkshire Rat Pack, Kieran Sampler, said his group was now catching huge rats and warned of ‘horrendous’ times ahead.

Mr Sampler, who hunts rats in the traditional way with two Lakeland terriers, told The Telegraph: ‘It is going to be a bad winter for rats, and people don’t realise – it is going to be horrendous.

‘There is always going to be a bad winter after a good summer.’

An ex-Lance Bombardier, Mr Sampler stated the problem had been ‘getting worse’ over the years.

He said: ‘We are catching up to 22-inch rats, 19-inch rats are now standard – they are like a chihuahua. Give it a couple years and they will be 25 inches.’

Mr Sampler added there was a ‘lot more waste now than 20 years ago’, with a higher quantity of takeaways, and discarded food’.

Gas worker James Green with a rat found near Hackney Downs, east London (File Photo)

Gas worker James Green with a rat found near Hackney Downs, east London (File Photo)

Hundreds of residents expressed their shock and disgust after a picture of an enormous 22-inch rat was posted on social media by Redcar and Cleveland councillors

Hundreds of residents expressed their shock and disgust after a picture of an enormous 22-inch rat was posted on social media by Redcar and Cleveland councillors

Overflowing bins have also been blamed for the problem. A few are pictured here at Whitworth Road cemetery, Swindon, on Christmas Day

Overflowing bins have also been blamed for the problem. A few are pictured here at Whitworth Road cemetery, Swindon, on Christmas Day

He claimed his group – a collective of pest controllers who share jobs and have built a following on social media – were catching the 19/20-inch rodents daily.

‘It’s getting beyond a joke’, he concluded.

The worst infestations seen by Mr Sampler took place on farms and in warehouses as well as in late-20th-century houses, he said.

Mr Sampler attributed this to cast iron pipes which ‘crumble’ and allow rats in.

Local councillor Paul Salvin also said he was concerned food disposed of improperly was fuelling the issue.

The Conservative expressed concern about a ‘go live’ date of April 2026 for food waste bins that could worsen the problem further and said water companies could do more to tackle the issue of the rodents entering people’s homes.

Mr Sampler said his group usually takes on jobs with three or four hunters but that the biggest jobs could require up to 15 people.

There are around 250 million rats in the UK – some of which carry illnesses like Weil’s disease, which can be passed on to humans.

A 'horrendous' infestation is underway following a period of hot summer weather and fast food waste that has created optimal conditions for the creatures to thrive (file image)

A ‘horrendous’ infestation is underway following a period of hot summer weather and fast food waste that has created optimal conditions for the creatures to thrive (file image)

Pest controller Terry Walker (pictured), who caught a giant 19-inch long mutant rat

Pest controller Terry Walker (pictured), who caught a giant 19-inch long mutant rat

The rat catcher’s warning comes after a 22-inch rat, thought to be the largest recorded in the UK, was captured at a home in the Normanby area of Redcar and Cleveland.

Hundreds expressed their shock and disgust after a picture of the supersized rodent was posted on social media by local politicians.

The rat was discovered by a pest controller who had been called to investigate.

It is unknown how it accessed the property, which it was believed to have been nesting in, but rats had been reported in back alleys nearby.

Rats are known to grow to a large size when there is an ongoing abundant supply of food.

In spring, mounds of rubbish in Dagenham – dubbed ‘Ratland’ – led to the pests plaguing the once rural town.

Images showed huge rat holes dug into green areas of the Greater London area which were so large a cat or small dog could likely fit through them.

In more footage a gang of nearly 10 rats could be seen eating among the birds in broad daylight in Tottenham Green East.

DAGENHAM: Dubbed 'Ratland', residents in the area were up in arms earlier this year about the 'inhumane' conditions that have turned the town into a living wasteland

DAGENHAM: Dubbed ‘Ratland’, residents in the area were up in arms earlier this year about the ‘inhumane’ conditions that have turned the town into a living wasteland

TOTTENHAM: A video posted on social media earlier this year shows a gang of nearly 10 rats eating among the birds in broad daylight in Tottenham Green East

TOTTENHAM: A video posted on social media earlier this year shows a gang of nearly 10 rats eating among the birds in broad daylight in Tottenham Green East

Meanwhile the ongoing Birmingham bin strikes have seen giant rats gorge on mountains of rubbish that flow through the streets.

University student Sandy Du gave insight on how the horrors of living alongside the rodents ‘the size of baby cats’, had taken over her local streets.

The sociology student, 22, told Daily Mail: ‘They’re horrible!’ We see them all the time near our accommodation at night, scrounging through the bins and rubbish.

‘There’s lots of them, they make your skin crawl, they’re a horrible sight and very off putting.’

She added: ‘They’re big brown ones, like the size of baby cats. They’re always around the bin area and the situation will only get worse with the rubbish men on strike.

‘Bins are left full to brimming and overflowing and when they’re being left and not being emptied it attracts even more vermin.’

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