The number of rats scampering through Bradford's drains has jumped by a fifth over the last year.

Contractors working for Yorkshire Water had to deal with 1,483 rat infestations compared with 1,232 in the same period last year - an increase of 20 per cent.

And the city could be overrun with even more of the furry fiends if drastic measures are not taken, according to a council report.

The report's findings will be presented to councillors on the Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee next Wednesday.

Councillors will be asked to approve a report which tells Yorkshire Water of fears about the rising tide of rats in the district. But today the company has denied that its rodent control policy is leading to an increase in the rodent population in the district.

Concerns were raised by the council in February when it revealed that complaints about rats had increased since 1997 when Yorkshire Water had put its sewer baiting contract out to a private company. Previously the council had carried out the work.

Pest officers blamed a new system of baiting "hotspots" instead of blanket coverage. But Yorkshire Water said it spent almost more than any other sewage authority on sewer baiting.

The latest report blames the rise in the number of rodents on the availability of food through fly tipping, dumping, feeding birds and defective or open drains.

Bradford Council's pest control section has upgraded its computer equipment which makes it easier to identify where the rat infestations are and pass the information on to the contractors.

But the report states that there is still "a large upward trend which emphasises that further measures need to be implemented."

Coun Ghazanfer Khaliq, chair of the Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee, said: "The council now keeps a closer eye on sewer baiting carried out for Yorkshire Water thanks to better IT systems.

"We need to know that Yorkshire Water is doing all it can to reduce a noticeable increase in the rat population in Bradford.

"We would also appeal to the public to do their bit to reduce the rat population by not dumping food or feeding birds."

A spokesman for Yorkshire Water said that its rodent control budget continued to be one of the highest in the country. Since April it had baited 4,800 manholes in Bradford and by next March it expected to bait a further 3,000. This level of activity had been acknowledged by the council without any concerns, the company claimed.