Rats in Hounslow have prompted more than 600 complaints to the council already this year.

Hounslow Council, which operates a service to remove the vermin from people's homes and gardens, received 602 requests between January and the beginning of October.

That is already more than the 547 it dealt with during the whole of 2013, suggesting the pests are on the rise in the borough.

Among the requests so far this year are 125 to remove rats from within people's properties, figures obtained by Trinity Mirror's data unit reveal.

The number of requests so far this year to deal with infestations works out at 2.2 per day.

If that rate continues the total for the year will end up at 787 - significantly more than the 2012 and 2013 totals.

People with TW4 postcodes, covering Hounslow West, have put in the most requests of any Hounslow postal district, with 87 so far this year.

The council has also had 30 requests to deal with mosquitoes this year, up from just two last year, as well as 183 wasp infestations and 123 bedbug problems.

Rat removal requests to Hounslow Council's pest control team

Postcode 2012 2013 2014 to date
TW1 3 1 1
TW13 78 62 72
TW14 89 71 65
TW15 0 3 0
TW3 82 59 80
TW4 96 70 87
TW5 70 78 85
TW7 45 44 45
TW8 72 49 56
UB2 39 46 38
W3 21 11 18
W4 47 47 54
W5 5 6 1
Total 647 547 602