Hattersley, UK – Fear Factor for real: hundreds of people in this English housing estate report seeing giant rats in their houses, gardens, and streets.

The animals are said to be the size of small cats and are now pushing Hattersley residents to their breaking point. In recent months, the critters have been spotted throughout the region, Manchester Evening News reported.

Becci, a mother of two, told the paper that she has been living in Hattersley for three years and has had contact with the pest control department about three times during that period. But the rodents keep coming back: "The whole estate is just absolutely overrun by rats now."

It used to be different: "When I first moved here there was one living under my floorboards, but now there are more of them. I spoke to my neighbour and she said it's the same in her house. Recently, it seems to have become a problem for everyone living here."

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Becci hasn't left her back door open for a long time, afraid the uninvited guests might try to come inside.

"You can hear them squealing and running about at night, it's awful. We are all losing sleep over it," Becci complained.

In early November, resident Margaret Anne Dillon posted a video of a large rat on the open Hattersley Community Group on Facebook.

Dylan Longmate, who runs the local Facebook group, said the rats were scattered throughout the housing estate and that they had become a major issue for all the residents.

"You can be walking down the street and the next thing you see a rat running down the road. It is absolutely awful," Longmate said.

A spokesman for the Tameside Council commented: "We have received only two complaints on this issue but have been working hard to eradicate the problem on the estate [...]" They want to find more answers, but they also need the community to work together.

It doesn't sound as if the rodent problem in Hattersley will be brought under control anytime soon.