COMPLAINTS of rat infestation in Salford have risen by nearly 40 per cent in the last year.

Between 2007 and 2008, 2,448 complaints were made to Salford City Council’s environmental health team about rats - an average of nearly seven a day.

This compares to just 1,774 complaints made between 2006 and 2007.

National pest control organisations and opposition councillors say the problem is down to poor rubbish collection.

But Salford City Council claim that more rat sightings are a sign of a cleaner city.

Councillor Norman Owen, of the council’s scrutiny committee for environment, housing and planning, said: "We have to be truthful about this - what needs to change is the council’s style of bin collection, the overall flytipping and we need more street cleaners in Salford.

"In Langworthy there are also so many derelict houses which have to be demolished.

"There is an increase in the amount of people who put their bins out too early and leave rubbish in the alleys for the bin collection.

"We put our points of view forward at the last budget meeting about the environmental budget we needed - this problem is not being tackled severely enough at the source and that’s a fact."

National figures show that out of 50 local authorities in the UK, 39 said they had had an increase in rat-related calls.

In the last year, Salford was the fourth worst affected area, behind York, Carlisle and Exeter. Salford City Council claim the increased sightings are due to increased urban regeneration on land and in sewers which causes rat populations to move around more.

A spokesperson for Salford City Council said: "Rats may be more visible to citizens because the city is getting cleaner, with most refuse contained within lidded wheelie bins. Our litter enforcement team and environmental health officers regularly visit businesses to discuss their waste disposal arrangements, and the council continues to provide residents with free rat control treatment."

Cllr Keith Mann, the council’s lead member for environment, said: "All these factors mean that increased sightings don’t necessarily indicate that rat numbers are correspondingly higher.

"Staff will continue to pursue vigorously the elimination of these infestations and will work with United Utilities to get rid of sewer-based habitats."

Savvas Othon, technical director at Rentokil Pest Control, said: "There are certain measures that local residents can take to help reduce the risk of major rodent infestations, such as buying extra strong bin liners, using tightly sealed bins and washing out any containers before we throw them away."