A COUNCIL has been criticised for letting rat numbers reach unprecedented levels it was revealed today.

Hyndburn Council's exterminators were called out 375 times between April and September this year -- the previous year alone saw 402 call-outs.

The alarming six-month rise even swamps the half-yearly total for previous peak of 1999 when exterminators were requested 600 times during the entire year.

At a public meeting in the town hall last night , Hyndburn Council's head of environmental health Steve Todd blamed the rise on the hot summer, fly-tippers, litter-louts and a sewer break that released hundreds of rats across Springhill.

But one resident at the meeting, who lived through the sewer break in June criticised the council and said its sewer baiting programme was not working and this was to blame.

Jennifer Clarke, 63, of Primrose Street, said: "When the contractors broke the sewer, Springhill was swamped with rats and it still is.

"Springhill primary had to be closed for a week while it was gassed to kill off all the rats, but what happened to the other lucky ones? They are running over Springhill.

"Steve Todd claims they are baiting the sewers but Springhill proves their action is not effective. Is there another Springhill waiting to happen?"

The increase of rats has also hit the neighbouring town of Blackburn where sightings have risen by almost a third in the past year.

The council recently launched a zero-tolerance campaign where it pledged to issue fines to people who leave bin bags out. And it has promised to get tougher, claiming it was considering making take-away owners clean-up customers' discarded wrappings.

Coun Anne Scaife, who agreed there was a rat problem and felt the sewers needed to be treated, said: "I feel we have to go in and get rid of them in an orderly way.

"But we are getting rid of rubbish and we are tackling people who put their rubbish bags out when they are not supposed to.

"The diseases that rats bring are very frightening and if we went down the road of blitzing them I feel we could then reduce the problem and keep on top of it."

Mr Todd said: "I would disagree that our programme is not working. We carry out an annual sewer baiting programme. We have done Rishton and we are working through the whole of the borough.

"There are three people employed who deal with rodent control and sewer clearance. That has not changed recently."

Hyndburn Council leader Coun Peter Britcliffe said: "We are not happy, we have had a record year for rodent infestation in the borough. But this is not just a Hyndburn problem, it is a national problem."