Giant 'four foot' rat found in London

Enormous rat spotted near London playground

A man has found a huge rat in London - which he claimed weighed two stone and reached 4ft in length.

Gas engineer Tony Smith, 46, spotted the rat while working at a block of flats near Hackney Downs, north London on Thursday.

The rodent, which was found dead, was discovered near a playground that backed onto a railway track, reports the Metro.

Tony snapped a picture of the rat being held by electrician friend James Green, 46, to the glee and disgust of his friends.

Tony said: "This is the largest rat I've ever seen in my entire life.

"I've got a cat and a Jack Russell and it was bigger than both of those. I'd say it was about four foot."

Some people have suggested the rat is being made to look bigger by the perspective of the photo.

The “giant rat” is two foot rather than the “four foot” claimed in the press. Perspective trick. Here’s my working: pic.twitter.com/DYGE3hPDSz
— Oliver O'Brien (@oobr) March 11, 2016

But, whether it's 4ft or not, it's clear this is one large rat.

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Steven Belmain, Professor of Ecology at University of Greenwich, also suggested the size of the rat may have been exaggerated.

Speaking to the Independent, he said: "All wild rats in England are Norway rats.

"I accept that they may find very well fed and mature animals that are at the upper limit of size, but they are certainly not going to reach two stone. There are rodents in the Tropics such as cane rats that get that big, but there is no way a Norway rat will get that big."