Brit estate being invaded by giant rats

London, Aug 19 (ANI): Britons have revealed that their homes are being invaded by a number of giant rats.

Brandon Goddard, 31, a manager at a cleaning firm, killed a 21/2ft rat on the Bradford, West Yorks, estate and he revealed that there were four others of the same size that scuttled away to safety.

"They were more like Ratzillas than rats. I got out of there as fast as I could. Who knows how many there will be if they've been breeding?" the Sun quoted him as saying.

"The first went right past but we got the second one. Then three more got away.

"I've seen thousands of rats during the course of my work and go shooting a couple of times a week. But I've never seen any as big as this.

"The one I shot was absolutely terrifying. I was shaking. Goodness knows where the others went. I'm glad I don't live there," he stated.

The shot rat, feared to be from a species native to South America, is twice as big as common British types and the largest seen.

The residents of Ravenscliffe estate in Bradford, West Yorks, are used to seeing massive rodents that sometimes appear in their kitchens and lounges, but the new species shocked them.

Experts called the shot rat "extraordinary" and said the colony was worth investigating.

Laura Drake, of the Mammal Society, speculated it could be a coypu - a South American rodent often referred to as a "giant rat".

Coypus were thought to have been eradicated in Britain in a cull 20 years ago. But Drake said it was "not impossible" there had been survivors.

"The most likely answer is the shot rat was from a non-indigenous species that was in captivity and got out," the RSPCA added. (ANI)