People are usually only too glad to see the back of rats but the disappearance of one monster rodent had fans rallying round to get it back.
The 6ft-long specimen in question was the undoubted star of a much-loved waterside mural in Brentford.
When graffiti vandals defaced the 100m-long artwork, beside the Grand Union Canal, the painting's admirers joined a community clean-up organised by towpath ranger Dick Vincent, of the Canal & River Trust, on June 11.
Thanks to their efforts the rat, who is part of a tableau of scenes from along the waterway painted by young offenders last year, is once again watching over the canal from the old warehouse wall.
John Dale, of Brentford TV, took this video of the clean-up in action, which shows the mural before and after the offending graffiti was scrubbed off.
