A CLAIMED explosion in the rat population was today played down by a Swindon expert.

But people who leave litter are being warned that they are banging the dinner gong for the vermin.

Mike Poole, a senior environmental health officer with Swindon Council, was reacting to claims that rat numbers are burgeoning.

Keep Britain Tidy says carelessness about dumping rubbish and litter has led to a 13 per cent rise in the last year and ratcatchers outside Swindon have been quoted as saying the real figure is nearer 20 per cent.

But Mr Poole said: "In each of the last three years, we have averaged about 820 calls for assistance with rat infestation."

Before 1999, the average figure was only about 550 requests a year, which suggests an increase in the population at that time.

Mr Poole suspects a combination of long periods of mild weather might have been responsible for that leap along with unwitting encouragement by human beings.

He said: "It is very difficult to say that the situation is getting worse here.

"Regardless of the situat-ion, you just know when things are getting bad because it becomes self-evident, and that isn't the case here.

"We are dealing with as many cases as we have ever done but no more."

Keep Britain Tidy puts the national rat population at 60 million or two million more rats in Britain than there are people.

The creatures are a menace because their urine spreads leptospirosis, commonly known as Weil's disease, which can cause kidney and liver failure and is often fatal.

And rats, like many rodents, urinate almost constantly.

But according to Mr Poole, there are plenty of defensive measures avail-able, including:

n Storing rubbish in solid containers, where rats cannot get at it.

n Not dropping uneaten food as litter the hedges near the bus stops in Fleming Way, for example, are regularly home to rats because of the easy pickings left by humans.

n Making sure not to spread too much food on the ground when feeding wild birds, as leftovers are tempting to rats.

Mr Poole said: "Rats have always lived around humankind it is the dirty habits of some of us that allow them to thrive.

"If human beings were cleaner and tidier in their habits, rats would have a much harder time of it."

Swindon Council charges £29 for a visit from pest control experts, with no charge for Gold Card holders.