Claims that giant rats are plaguing a Bradford estate have been rubbished by community leaders and Bradford Council’s pest control chief.

A report alleging monster two-and-a-half-foot rats had been seen in Ravenscliffe was published yesterday by national tabloid The Sun.

The newspaper printed a blurred photo of what it said was a giant rat which was taken outside an unidentifiable house.

It said the creature had been found behind a wall on the estate and shot by cleaning firm manager Brandon Goddard, of Wakefield, before being dumped in undergrowth and possibly eaten by a fox.

Last night ward Councillor Geoff Reid (Lib Dem, Eccleshill) said: “It’s too easy for the national media to slag off Bradford and we have been struggling for years with that.

“Rats, because of the diseases that go with them, are taken very seriously. If there really was something of that size around here it needs investigating but I think it’s possible they could have made a mistake. I need persuading of the veracity of this story.

“I would like The Sun to substantiate this story and, if they can’t, I want an apology.”

Fellow Lib Dem ward Councillor Carol Beardmore said: “I live on the estate and while I’m not saying we don’t have rats – everywhere has rats – I am not aware of an infestation of giant rats.”

Ann Henderson, co-chairman of the Gateway Community and Children’s Centre in Ravenscliffe, said: “This centre has made a vast improvement on this estate, everyone’s getting involved.

“I think it’s going up and The Sun sticks something like that, which we don’t need, on the front page.

“They’re not helping us here. I don’t know what it (the creature) is but it’s a prank.”

Dennis Shipway, Bradford Council’s pest control manager, told the Telegraph & Argus yesterday: “We have not received any reports of larger-than-normal rats or any increased rat activity in Ravenscliffe.

“We visited the area today and found no evidence of large rats.”

Rebecca Holmes, 38, of Norbury Road, Ravenscliffe, said she was approached by a Sun reporter who showed her the picture on a mobile phone.

“He said ‘Have you seen any rats that big?’ and I said ‘No’,” she said.

“I have seen some rats but nothing as big as that.”

Christopher O’Rielly, 46, said of The Sun’s picture: “If you got a cat and shaved its tail, that could be a cat.

“And if someone had picked that up they would have kept it. You’d have gone straight to the Council.

“It’s made the estate look worse than it is – it unfairly makes the estate look bad. And where is it now? I think it’s a cat.

“There’s also a chance Ravenscliffe could have got mixed up with Ravensthorpe.”

No-one at The Sun was available for comment last night.

- The Council has urged anyone with concerns about rats to contact it on (01274) 433926.