A YORK council tenant has turned rat-catcher after discovering a foot-long rodent in her flat.

Tang Hall resident Sharon Taylor, 24, couldn't sleep one night because of a heavy cold.

Suddenly, she heard strange noises coming from the kitchen of the first floor Tuke Avenue flat she shares with boyfriend Kevin Moon, 36.

When she opened the door, she was horrified to find an enormous rat munching on food meant for their German Shepherd dog, Tess.

It wasn't the first time they had come face to face with their unwanted guest.

Some weeks before, Sharon and Kevin had spotted the creature perched on top of Tess's toy basket.

So, Sharon decided it was time to take matters into her own hands. The couple bought a rat trap and set it up in the kitchen overnight, filling it with some of Tess's dog food.

"We kept the door shut so Tess couldn't get in, in case the rat bit her. Next morning, there it was in the trap, a great big fat thing," said Sharon, who works at Money Spinner, at Micklegate Bar.

But despite their success in catching the rat, the couple are certain there are more of them at large.

"I think the one we got was the mother rat, and she'd been coming in to get food for her family. Our neighbours have told us they've heard scrabbling noises since we used the trap, so the rats are obviously still there."

Sharon said she hoped City of York Council would deal with the problem.

"We complained to them a few weeks ago, but they just say they haven't got a record of our call.

"They did come and put poison in the downstairs flat, but it obviously hasn't worked, and they didn't ever come and check out our flat.

"It's about time the council did something proper about this. It's horrible to think you're living with rats running around in your floorboards."

But a council spokeswoman said: "We received complaints about a rat problem from the tenants of the two downstairs flats a few weeks ago and the council's pest control team went out to deal with it.

"No one has come back to us and told us that there is still a problem, but if there is, they should contact the pest control team as soon as possible."

Updated: 12:20 Wednesday, December 08, 2004