The mother of a seven-year-old girl, who was bitten by a rat in her own bed, has spoken out to warn other parents how dangerous a wild rat can be.

Wendy Williams spoke to the Ross Gazette after taking her daughter Francesca to the Doctors who gave her antibiotics and reporting the incident to Environmental Health.

Francesca was asleep in her own bed when she woke her parents up by crying out. They thought she had had a nightmare and went in to comfort her.

As her dad helped her out of bed he could see blood on her face and as Francesca left the room her dad caught sight of a small brown animal.

Dad, Darren, quickly shut the door and fetched the family pet, a Jack Russell, who swiftly dispensed with the rat.

Wendy told the Ross Gazette:?"We are not sure how the rat came to be in the house, we think it might have got in through the cat flap so we now only have one which can be operated magnetically.

"We live in a rural area and are aware of rats outside but I would never have thought that a rat would actually come into a house, especially one with cats and dogs living in it."

Wendy was also surprised that a rat would bite a human being especially as Francesca was asleep at the time. The creature had bitten Francesca's face and arm but she was not badly hurt. Wendy said that Francesca was actually quite excited about it to begin with as she was given lots of attention but the day after she was very quiet.

Wendy said: "When we heard her screaming we really thought it would be a bad dream, we never thought there would actually be something frightening in her room."

There was no sign that the rat had been in the house before so Wendy believes it must have come in that evening though the cat flap.

Wendy has reported the incident to Environmental Health at Herefordshire Council but as we went to press she has not yet had a response.

The Environmental Health team have given the following advice to Ross Gazette readers to prevent rodents from accessing your property.

Rodents require shelter, food and water in order to survive and the best way to prevent a problem is to remove one or more of these elements from being readily available. Rats are both excellent climbers and efficient burrowers and favour compost heaps and ground under sheds and hedges, where they dig shallow burrows and form nests. If access to a building is possible they will often nest in cavity walls and beneath floorboards.

It is advised to remove any possible food sources, including fallen fruit, animal feed and accessible household waste. If bird feeders are being used, place as far away from trees as possible.

It is also recommended to carry out an inspection of your property and garden in order to check for evidence of gnawing, droppings and holes, which are typically about 80mm/three inches in diameter. Where suspected rodent holes are found, these should be sealed up to prevent usage of a nest or run and the area monitored.

If evidence of an infestation is seen, it is advised to carry out rodent baiting at your property in order to try and reduce the number of rats. This is more effective if adjacent properties also put down rodent bait, so there can be a complete approach to tackling the problem.

What you can do to prevent rodents from entering your property

Rodents require shelter, food and water in order to survive and the best way to prevent a problem is to remove one or more of these elements from being readily available. Rats are both excellent climbers and efficient burrowers and favour compost heaps and ground under sheds and hedges, where they dig shallow burrows and form nests. If access to a building is possible they will often nest in cavity walls and beneath floorboards.

It is advised to remove any possible food sources, including fallen fruit, animal feed and accessible household waste. If bird feeders are being used, place the feeders as far away from trees as possible to prevent rodents having access and where possible only use feeders that allow minimum spillage of food.

It is also recommended to carry out an inspection of your property and garden in order to check for evidence of gnawing, droppings and holes, which are typically about 80mm / 3 inches in diameter. Rats are creatures of habit and having established the best route from one place to another will frequently use a 'run' to access food and drink. The run becomes soiled with grease and dirt from the rat's fur and the amount of droppings indicates the size of the infestation.

If evidence of an infestation is seen, it is advised to carry out rodent baiting at your property in order to try and reduce the number of rats. This is more effective if adjacent properties also put down rodent bait, so there can be a complete approach to tackling the problem.

To be most effective, bait should be placed in the direct line of an established run, in a tube or purpose built bait box to prevent water damage and access by other animals. Rats normally take several days to feed freely and it is important that you regularly check bait levels and top up as necessary. When bait is no longer being taken, this normally indicates that the infestation has been significantly reduced and may have been eradicated altogether.

Where suspected rodent holes are found, these should be sealed up to prevent usage of a nest or run and the area monitored to see if further activity is noted.

For more stories in full please see this week's Ross Gazette.