A woman was sent into a state of panic after discovering a giant rat scuttling around her while she was using the toilet.
Horrifying pictures shows the huge rodent lodged in the bottom of the toilet, with its long claws and whiskers poking out of the water.
The woman was left ‘screaming’ after the rat – which later drowned upside down in the water – had climbed up her drains and was hiding in the bottom of her loo.
Kieran Sampler, a professional rat catcher, said: ‘The rat has gone up another line of the drain and has come up into the toilet – while a woman was on the toilet.
‘So we had to get it out, it was pretty bad – I’ve never had it where it’s come up the toilet.
‘She was screaming – imagine being on the toilet and something brushes against you.’
Shocking pictures shows the rodent lodged in the bottom of the toilet with its long claws and whiskers poking out of the water
Professional rat catcher Kieran Sampler (pictured) claims to have killed over 65,000 rodents
The 30-year-old, who claims to have killed over 65,000 of the animals, added: ‘I had a client that had a rat that was living in the wooden lats of a bed – it’s crazy what I’ve seen.
‘I had one where a cat brought the rat in during the night, so the family trapped it inside the bedroom.
‘I brought my dog in, he identified it straight away but the rat ran into the draws of the bedside table.’
Mr Sampler set up a Facebook page called Yorkshire Rat Pack in 2018, where he shares jobs and supports other rat catchers.
The father-of-one then founded his own business called Vermicure Pest Control, which covers South and West Yorkshire.
He avoids using traps, which would keep the rodents in a cage, because he says this traumatises them.
Mr Sampler, of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, has instead trained his two Lakeland Terriers Poppy and Penny to locate and kill the rats in the most humane way possible.
He said: ‘They kill the rats in seconds.
‘It’s more humane than using poison in my opinion, which is why it’s never been made illegal.
‘It also works quicker than poison – in a good way.’
The woman was left ‘screaming’ after the rat – which later drowned upside down in the water – had climbed up her drains and was hiding in the bottom of her loo
Mr Sampler, who helps around ten customers a day, says there has been an increase of people finding rats over the last few months.
He recommends that people cut back their garden foliage, ‘rat-proof’ their decking and pick up their dog poo regularly to prevent them from going on their property.
Mr Sampler said: ‘This winter is going to be bad, I’m already getting farmers ringing me up two months in advance.
‘Winter time is a vital time for rats – they love foliage so if you’ve got heavy foliage in your garden, then I would recommended cutting it back.
‘I would try and reduce bird feeders, you can’t force people to get rid of them because everyone likes them, but I would try and rat-proof them as best you can.
‘Decking is a nightmare because rats love decking – try and proof it up because they will go under it.
‘A lot of people don’t pick up their dog poo up straight away, but that attracts them.
‘If they go inside the property, then it’s more than likely a problem with your drains.
‘When they go into the drains, they eat the human waste and human faeces.’