by STEVE DOUGHTY

Last updated at 22:37 05 January 2007

The plague of rats gripping towns and cities has been worsened by the greed of local councils, pest control firms said yesterday.

As revealed in the Mail yesterday, rat infestations have shot up by nearly 40 per cent in six years. Last night it emerged that the plague has coincided with town halls charging to send out ratcatchers.

Six out of ten of councils have stopped deploying pest control teams free of charge, said the

National Pest Technicians Association.

Instead, householders are having to pay up to £65 to have rats removed. The fees have come while council tax bills have been rising by more than double the level of inflation each year.

The NPTA, which represents vermin control organisations, says the charges have contributed to the rise in rat numbers because householders are more reluctant to call out a ratcatcher if they know they will have to pay.

The association also blames "recycling mania" in government, with the adoption of fortnightly, instead of weekly, rubbish collections.

It said in a report: "The alarming trend towards charging policies seems to be spreading through local authorities, whose senior officers seem to be revenue driven.

"This is causing more people to go over to DIY pest control and this is a step in the wrong direction.

"Bureaucrats in central and local government continue to put public health at risk by imposing unrealistic budgets which reduce the efficiency of pest control and force authorities to make a charge to eradicate pests."

NPTA chief executive John Davison added: "We have seen a lot of councils reporting an 80 per cent reduction in the number of call-outs.

"If you see a rat cross your garden, are you going to pay £65 to get it sorted out? People are not reporting it and making the population much bigger."