Rats are set to invade homes across the UK

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The rodents are preparing to infest homes across the country to seek warmth as the coldest Winter for 50 years approaches.

The unpopular pests are responsible for damage to homes across the UK by gnawing away at cables and eating beams.

People can prepare for the invasion by getting scuttling and scratching sounds investigated by experts.

Last year, local council pest controllers were called out to deal with 715,000 infestations of different rodents.

The boss of Cleankill Environmental Services, Paul Bates, said: " It's so much better to take preventive action now.

"It's amazing how often we find external doors that simply don't fit properly. A mouse can get in through a gap the width of a pencil, so if there is a gap, make sure you fit a bristle-strip draft excluder to the base."