“We are very concerned about this from a public health point of view,” said Oliver Madge, chief officer of the British Pest Control Association.

The trade group says it has identified two unnamed towns in Berkshire where it claims the rats are now almost completely immune to currently allowed poisons.

It also points to years of mild winters and wet summers that have created favorable conditions for the rats to breed.

The association is petitioning the government to allow the outdoor use of two powerful rodenticides, brodifacoum and flocoumafen, which some fear could endanger birds and pets.

It’s estimated that there is now a rat for every human resident of the U.K. and the rodents could far outnumber people if an effective way to control the pest population is not found.

More than 35 diseases can be spread through rats and mice – these include a fever-inducing nausea and muscle aches, passed via a bite or through contact with the rodent’s urine.

Photo: Environmental Campaigns (Britain)