A plague of rats is creating a climate of fear in a Pembrokeshire town. Rats the size of cats have been spotted in gardens on the Upper Lamphey Road, Pembroke.

Residents living at St David's Road have seen the vermin eating apples off trees and tomatoes in greenhouses.

Pest control officers from Pembrokeshire County Council have laid bait but this has been eaten within hours.

Sylvia Bevan, of 33 St David's Road, has particular concern about the health risks to her teenage handicapped daughter.

'She doesn't have the good sense to wash her hands when she has been in the garden,'' says Mrs Bevan. 'If she contracts Weil's disease I will be suing everyone under the sun.''

She cites an incident when one neighbour had two rats sitting on her windowsill in broad daylight.

In desperation, the residents have repeatedly contacted the county council's pest control department but claim to have had little success.

'We were told that there is only one pest control officer in charge of 50 cases and that we would have to wait our turn,'' says Mrs Bevan, who moved to St David's Road 18 months ago.

The council advised the residents to clear overgrowth adjoining their gardens in a bid to rid the vermin of their habitat. But two weeks of intensive clearance work has not deterred the rat population.

Mrs Bevan and her neighbours now plan to lobby councillors and their local MP, Nick Ainger.

'The situation is getting unbearable, there are rats everywhere,'' she says. A spokesman for Pembrokeshire County Council confirmed that the Authority employs three pest control officers.