RAT numbers are set to explode in Brent now the council has introduced huge charges for treating vermin.

It will cost households £95 a time from January 1 to get rid of rats in their homes. The council previously treated infestations for free.

Ironically, this year the council saw an 18 per cent increase in the number of home visits to deal with the boom in rodents.

The cost of an allotment will also go up by a staggering 127 per cent as well as a cemetery plot which will now set you back £2,410 - a 10 per cent increase.

Councillor Paul Lorber, leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, has asked for the proposals to be reviewed. He said: “Labour has rushed through these increases in charges and we’re not sure they’ve thought some of them through properly.

"We’re very concerned about the impact on people with allotments of a huge 127 per cent increase for example. And imposing a charge for help with dealing with rat infestations of £95 when it’s currently free is a worrying decision, especially given increasing rat populations and the cutting of weekly waste.”

The council says it has to increase fees and charges in order to make £37 million in cuts next year and to bring charges in line with other boroughs.

The increases will be on average between 10 and 20 per cent except for allotments and street fees which covers licences for scaffolding, skips and building materials, which will increase substantially.

The following services will be effected by the new charges:

* libraries will charge more for overdue books and reservations
* licensing fees and street trading charges will go up
* nationality checking, weddings, citizenship ceremonies, certificates for births, marriages and deaths
* parks to charge more for use sports pitches for training
* pest control
* youth clubs including the hiring of Roundwood, Poplar Grove and Granville Hall
* allotments
* cemeteries#

Clive Heaphy, Brent's director of finance and corporate services, said: "The current tough economic challenges facing all local authorities including Brent have made it necessary to increase the charges for some of our services.

"This was done reluctantly, after a lengthy review of fees and a thorough comparison with the charges applied for similar services by neighbouring boroughs. “It has been a difficult decision but one which is necessary in order to protect those essential services in the future."

For a full list of charges visit www.brent.gov.uk