UK - A plague of mice is infesting part of Preston, residents say.

Homeowners in parts of Frenchwood say they are under siege from the disease carrying rodents.

Residents in at least five streets in the area have reported sightings of mice in their homes.

Last week the Evening Post told of the concerns of some residents of Manchester Road, Frenchwood, who claimed to have spotted mice scurrying through their kitchens, living rooms and even their bedrooms every day.

Now town centre ward councillor Michael Lavalette says homeowners in Larkhill Road, James Street, Selborne Street and Brixton Road have told him they are experiencing similar problems.

Salma Patel, 34, has lived in Manchester Road with her husband and 11-year-old daughter for two years.

She said: "Since we have come here there has always been mice. I see them every time I go into the kitchen."

Student Humair Khan, 27, has lived in Manchester Road for six months.

He said: "We have quite a few, we have been noticing them for a month.
"Most of the time they are in the kitchen. We keep everything very clean but they are still coming in."

The complaints come as environmental health chiefs at Preston Council revealed
a rise in the rat and mouse population in the city in the past year.

Pest controllers were called out to 1,340 rat sightings and 1,001 mice sightings between April 2007 and March 2008. That is a 7% increase in the number of rats and a 5% increase in the number of mice.

The number of rat cases is double the 2004 figure.

Simon Neighbour, environmental health manager at Preston Council, says the increase, which mirrors the picture across the country, is down to a number of factors including people dropping waste and the lack of a long, cold winter which would reduce the rodent population.