RATS have been plaguing an elderly council home tenant for months.

John Davidson noticed one of the furry pests scurrying through the kitchen of his Highworth home six months ago and has had weekly visits from pest control ever since.

The 68-year-old got in touch with Swindon Borough Council after the first sighting and was told there would be a full inspection of his home in November to sort out the issue.

He said that after some persuasion, the date for this was moved to September 23 - but then no-one turned up.

John told the Adver: "It's been a nightmare. I'm at my wits' end, I hear them scratching when I'm in my bedroom, and I jump at every little noise, it's scary.

"One got caught in a kitchen cupboard with its stomach burst open. The smell was disgusting and cleaning the area afterwards was horrible.

"The pest control guy knows this house better than I do by now and he's done everything he can.

"Apparently, there's a hole behind one of the cabinets which can't be reached and sealed unless the cabinet is taken out first, or the rats might be getting in through a sewer drain.

"I couldn't believe when the council told me a few months ago that they would not inspect the house until November - would they like to live like this for that long?

"I think I've been fairly patient but when no-one turned up for the inspection last week, I started feeling desperate."

Mr Davidson moved to Highworth nine years ago after living in Penhill for a quarter of a century. He claims this is the first time he has ever experienced an infestation issue in his home.

Traps and poison have been placed all over his bungalow but he noticed rats running over the former and ignoring the latter.

Swindon Advertiser: John Davidson has put traps and rat poison in his kitchen to dealJohn Davidson has put traps and rat poison in his kitchen to deal (Image: Newsquest)

A Swindon Borough Council spokesman said: “We sympathise entirely with our tenant’s situation and we will do everything we can to help him resolve this issue.

“Our housing repairs team are booked in to visit his home this Friday, October 7, so we can start putting measures in place to deal with this persistent problem.”

The UK rat population is reckoned to exceed 150 million, more than twice the number of humans at 68 million.

The brown rat is hugely adaptable and can be found almost everywhere in the UK, in any habitat, all it needs is shelter and food.

Brown rats are omnivorous, eating pretty much anything, from fruit and seeds to human food waste, insects, birds' eggs or even small mammals.