Giant rat 'bigger than a dog' found near playground

A 46 year old Gas Engineer, Tony Smith says he found a rat bigger than a dog near a playground. He said he believes it weighs more than 25lb - and is "about 4ft" long including its tail.

"This is the largest rat I've ever seen in my entire life," he said.

He took a photograph of his friend James Green, an electrician, holding up the supersize rat to the camera.

Mr Smith added: "I've got a cat and a Jack Russell and it was bigger than both of those."

He said trash cans are often left open near the estate where he has been working so "these little fellas have a pretty good diet".
However, some people have cast doubts that the rat is actually as big as it appears in the photo. They think it's photoshopped to look that big.