Seaside town residents left 'living in terror' after being invaded by 'monster rats as big as cats'

Residents of a seaside town have been left to ‘live in terror’ after they were invaded by ‘monster’ rats ‘as big as cats’.

Residents of Tenby, South West Wales, fear rodents are damaging the cliffs along the scenic coastline with their burrows.

Roger Miles, a local boatman, claimed the problem had worsened in recent months, saying: ‘Early evening, dusk, early morning, rats everywhere really.

“There is a certain area where you see parts of the Castle Hill cliffs have been eroded.”

According to the Metro, a female rat typically has six litters per year, each consisting of up to 12 pups.

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Residents of the South West Wales seaside town of Tenby have been left to ‘live in terror’ after they were invaded by ‘monster’ rats ‘as big as cats’

Residents fear rodents are damaging cliffs along the scenic coastline with their burrows

Tenby is known to be a peaceful and picturesque seaside town

While rats reach sexual maturity four or five weeks after birth, a population of two can lead to a whopping 1,250 in the space of a year, with the potential to grow even more.

Another local, Derek Brown, told the BBC: ‘It’s the structural damage they might cause to the cliff that’s the big worry.

The town’s mayor, Sam Skyrme-Blackhall, said the council was “taking action” by helping to set up dozens of bait boxes to eliminate rodents.

However, a local told The Sun: ‘You just can’t kill them faster than they can breed. Once they’re here, they’re here to stay.

A spokesman for Pembrokeshire Council told the BBC it was “aware of the problems with the rodents” and was working to resolve the issue.

Roger Miles (pictured), a local boatman, said the problem had worsened in recent months, adding: ‘Early evening, dusk, early morning, rats everywhere really’

A population of two rats can lead to a whopping 1,250 in the space of a year, with the potential to grow even more

Council ‘takes action’ by helping set up dozens of bait boxes to eliminate rats

A female rat typically has six litters per year, each consisting of up to 12 pups. [File image]

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Meanwhile, the council urged the public not to feed the birds or drop any food.

Ms Skyrme-Blackhall told the Guardian: ‘There are members of the public who feed the birds, who feed the rats. They think they’re nice, but that doesn’t help the problem at all.

He added that people are not responsible and do not dispose of their trash properly by putting food in their general trash, which means rats find it.

“The problem is being eradicated as we speak. Yes, there were issues, but nothing on the volume that was released,” he said.

MailOnline has contacted Pembrokeshire Council for further comment.