A disabled man is claiming Southall could be overrun with rats because residents who sound the alarm are being made to pay.

Reginald Gossington, 63, of Cornwall Avenue, who is quadriplegic, called the council's pest control team on Monday after seeing a rat in his back garden.

His neighbour's five-year-old daughter had seen one in their back garden the week before, and a week earlier rats had been seen on top of sheds behind their gardens.

But Mr Gossington was told a visit from the pest control team would cost him £41, as they had been sighted on his own property.

'These rats are everywhere, not confined to private properties, and it's getting serious as people are keeping quiet because they can't afford to pay,' he said.

'Diseases are going to spread and they could attack children ,, it's a community problem.'

He added that neighbours were aware of the problem but most were unwilling to foot the bill for alerting the council.

Mr Gossington added the borough's pest control team had come on Monday to lay bait and he had split the bill with a neighbour.

'But if the only people who call are those willing to pay, we're not going to solve the problem.'

An Ealing Council spokesman responded: 'The legal responsibility for the removal of rats rests with the owners and occupiers of the property where the problem exists.

'But the council provides a heavily subsidised service to help residents fulfil their legal responsibility.'