The reduction in rubbish collections is being blamed for record numbers of rats, which it has been claimed are an increasing threat to public health.

The brown rat population has surged by 39 per cent in 2005 according to the National Pest Technicians Association. It said that fortnightly collections and the widespread use of composting bins was exacerbating the problem. The problem would get worse as more councils switched to compulsory recycling, the association said.

The rise will force a revision of how far every person is from a rat. Last year Londoners were estimated never to be more than 18 metres (20 yards) from a rat; the new figures suggest that the distance is now closer to 14 metres.

The 2006 National Rodent Survey highlighted compost bins, discarded fast-food containers, bird feeders, litter and poor maintenance of sewage pipes as some of the main causes of the rat boom. Other prime factors cited by the report are the rise in councils demanding payment for pest control and water companies failing to take sufficient action against the rodents infesting their sewers. More homes are also being infested by house mice, Mus domesticus, the survey found, with a 14 per cent increase identified.

John Davidson, chief executive for the NPTA, was particularly worried at the rise in brown rats, Rattus norvegicus. He said: “It’s a grave problem. The way this is growing, it is going to give rise to some kind of public health risk. What will it take for someone to take notice about what it going on?” Included among the risks posed by rats is the spread of Weil’s disease, a bacterial infection that kills about a dozen people in Britain every year. Other diseases spread by rats include toxoplasmosis and salmonella.

Despite tonnes of poison being laid out annually, more than 70 million brown rats are now estimated to be scurrying around Britain, more than one for every human.

The survey report concluded: “The findings do not make for good news. We have to report a serious increase in both brown rat and house . . . throughout the whole of the UK.” Rats would pose a serious health risk if the trends continued, it predicted.

Composters were condemned by the survey because many allow easy access to rats, which often burrow up from the bottom, and provide them with a ready supply of food.

An increasing menace

How to spot rats

• Look for holes in the ground about 8cm in diameter
  
  
• They leave greasy smears on walls they have brushed past
  
  
• Their droppings are cylindrical and about 2cm long
  
  
• They will leave gnaw marks as they chew their way through wood and electrical wire to reach food
  
  How to stop rats setting up home
  
  
• Put rubbish in sealed bins. Don’t leave out loose sacks
  
  
• Use composters with bottoms
  
  How to kill rats
  
  
• Put out bait laced with rodenticide in a bait box
  
  
• Hire a specialist or, if you must, handle with great care

  Source: Defra