An environment chief today promised action on a tourist trap said to be plagued by rats.

Pest control officers say Ilkley has become a hot spot as reports of the vermin rocket across the district.

The rats have even been seen in the town centre at 8.30 in the morning.

And Conservative ward councillor Anne Hawkesworth says she has reported seeing them in her garden.

She claims the Council said she was scaremongering and said the problem did not appear to have been tackled. But the Executive member for homes and environment, Councillor Jim 0'Neill, said: "Ilkley is important as a tourist destination and I promise swift action to protect its image."

He said he wanted to involve businesses and the community in trying to tackle the problem.

Coun O'Neill (Lab, Odsal) also pledged priority on a recommendation by the Environment Scrutiny Committee this week that the authority should draw up a strategy and policy for dealing with the district's rising rat problem. The strategy would include educating the public about the dangers of leaving litter and scraps of food.

Coun Hawkesworth said she believed over-flowing bins during the tourist season were the main cause of the problem and should be emptied more frequently. She said visitors also left food and rubbish on the river banks.

Officers say they cannot give accurate figures for individual areas but calls from Ilkley have increased.

The 1,588 calls received during the past year from across the district are 25 per cent up on 1998.

The Council has now agreed an action plan with Yorkshire Water, which is responsible for baiting the sewers.

Regular meetings are planned and the Council will report rat hot spots to the company on a postcode basis.

But the company has pointed out that rats do not necessarily come from sewers and there are many other reasons, including litter.

The company says its baiting programme is being carried out efficiently and it spends more on the programme than most water and sewage authorities.

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