A pest controller has snared a monster 21-inch long rat he believes is the biggest ever caught in Britain.
Terry Walker, 53, was working with his trusty dog Max when they trapped the enormous creature as it was shuffling from beneath some rubbish behind a row of shops in Bournemouth on Friday.
The catch means Mr Walker has regained the record he lost last year to rival exterminator Daren George.
Terry Walker, 53, was working with his trusty dog Max when they trapped the enormous creature as it was shuffling from beneath some rubbish behind a row of shops in Bournemouth on Friday
Mr Walker caught a 19-inch rat at Sandbanks, Dorset, in January 2017 only for Mr George, 48, to beat it by one inch with a whopper snatched from a Hampshire garden last December.
After his latest big catch, Mr Walker warned rats are getting bigger due to the amount and type of waste people are throwing away and it is only be a matter of time before someone finds a 2ft long specimen.
The huge Bournemouth rat ran out from underneath some rubbish he was clearing and straight into the jaws of rescue dog Max, a Manchester Terrier Cross Pinscher.
Mr Walker laid the giant rodent out next to a tape measure and it was 21 inches from tip to tail.
He also said it was more than double the weight of the average rat he catches, tipping the scales at about 1lb 70z.
‘I found this one at the back of a property in a road in Bournemouth, it’s a bit of a troubled spot,’ he said. ‘There are lots of vacant properties and commercial kitchens.
‘I had my dog Max with me, he’s good at sniffing out the source of entry at properties. I was clearing some debris at the back of the building and this rat bolted out of it.
‘Max reacted very quickly and just grabbed hold of it and shook it, killing it. The weight of it was absolutely unbelievable, it was so heavy. The average rat weighs about 12oz, I think this was easily 1lb 7oz.’
Mr Walker caught a 19-inch rat at Sandbanks, Dorset, in January 2017 (left) only for rival exterminator Daren George, 48, to beat it by one inch with a whopper snatched from a Hampshire garden last December (right)
Mr Walker, the manager of TP Pest Control Services, has more than 20 years’ experience as a rat-catcher but said they have got much bigger in the last five years.
‘There’s no doubt about it, I think there are definitely 2ft long rats in the UK,’ he said. ‘It’s just a matter of time until someone catches one.
‘If you go back a few years ago the average length was maybe 14 inches, but they are definitely getting bigger.
‘I caught a 19in one last year and another guy caught one that was 20 inches and this is 21in. To my knowledge, those are the three biggest people have actually shown with a tape measure.
‘Lots of people say they’ve seen one but unless you have the proof, who knows.’
The huge Bournemouth rat ran out from underneath some rubbish Mr Walker (right, undated photo) was clearing and straight into the jaws of rescue dog Max (who is pictured next to it on Friday)
Mr Walker said urgent action was needed to halt the scourge of the mega rats.
‘I think it’s because we are creating more waste, our society is getting more obese and the type of waste we are throwing away is fattier. That’s what the rats are feeding on so they are getting bigger too.
‘I don’t think it helps that a lot of councils have changed to fortnightly bin collections. There’s all sorts of accumulative reasons.
‘Most of my work now is rats and it’s growing year on year.’