WHAT the residents of Abergavenny's Heol Hamelin need is a Pied Piper - or at the very least, they say, they need rat poison for every garden.

They say they are frightened to let their children play in their gardens because of the number of rats.

Pest control officers have treated three of the gardens in the aptly-named Heol Hamelin - the name of the village which in the fairy tale was over-run by rats.

But angry parents say treating three gardens is not enough. And they are demanding that rat poison is placed in all gardens.

Mother-of-two Bonnie Holmes said she had six children playing in her house one day when she saw a rat scurry past her one-year-old baby Adam. "It was inches from the baby and luckily was being chased by the family cat Tiggy who stopped it running over the baby's leg.

"It had obviously been brought into the house by the cat who was playing with it. You can see them in the gardens every night."

This was the second time she has seen a rat in her house, the first one got into the toy cupboard and she had to wash and disinfect all the children's toys.

Neighbour Ray Parry said: "Someone rang the environmental department at Monmouthshire county council and they sent around a pest control firm but they only treated three gardens.

"We want them to treat all the gardens to get rid of the rats because there are 11 children aged from one to eight living in these houses."

His partner Claire Harris added: "Our shed is full of rat droppings and we can't let our four children play in the back garden."

Monmouthshire county council spokeswoman Rebecca Blount said: "If any resident reports rats in their house or garden the council provides a free pest control service. We are now making inquiries about further infestations."