COUNCIL chiefs are using the latest technology in the battle against rats in Evesham.

Environmental watchdogs are becoming increasingly concerned about a dramatic increase in the number of rats and have turned to computer technology to map hot spots.

Wychavon District Council is dealing with a 60 per cent increase in requests to deal with summer infestations as rats spread from sewers into towns and villages. Two years ago there were just 68 reported infestations but this had jumped to 109 this summer.

The authority is blaming poor waste management by homes and commercial premises as well as a reduction in sewer baiting by the privatised water companies for the explosion in the rate population. Warmer winters are adding to the problem and rats are becoming increasingly immune to the baits used to control their numbers.

Geoff Carpenter, Wychavon's Environmental Protection Manager and his team have developed what is believed to be the only computerised rat mapping system in the country, in a bid to fight back against the rodents.

"Over time we will be able to identify hot spots where there seems to be a significant problem of rats or mice," said Geoff.

"From there we will be able to prioritise and concentrate our efforts so that we are focusing our resources where they can do most good rather than pebble dashing the problem."

He said that rats carried a range of diseases including weills disease. "This is carried in the urine of rats and they are constantly urinating. If children play in water where rats have been and put their fingers in their mouths they can become infected."

He said a growth in litter, especially from fast food shops, added to the problem and urged people to make sure rubbish is kept in secure bins not left in bags."

Pest control officers are faced with dealing with a clever, adaptable and increasingly resilient animal that breeds prolifically throughout the year.

"We are facing a major battle against rats and nationally we are losing it," said Geoff.

Spokesman for Severn Trent, Matthew Wildsmith said: "We spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on vermin control. The policy is to act where the rats are identified as living in the sewers, not just because they use them for getting about."