With the silly season upon us the Grimsby Telegraph has put a different spin on big cat sightings and is asking readers to look out for big rats!

The North East Lincolnshire paper has unveiled a "rat map" after a month-long experiment by staff recorded 27 sightings of rats in the region in just four weeks, and readers are now being asked to add their own rodent tales and "splat the rat map".

The feature has a serious side and was launched after the paper discovered North East Lincolnshire Council is spending £1,000 more a year on pest control since scrapping its in-house service to save money.

And it appears the paper's Rat Watch has hit a nerve, with scores of readers contacting the newsroom to report sightings.

Telegraph news editor Lucy Wood said details of the council's pest control bill had prompted the paper to check out the extent of the rodent problem.

News staff, family and friends were enlisted to note down their sightings before the map was opened up to readers.

She said: "It is coming on leaps and bounds. We are building up a picture of how widespread the problem is and are collating the experiences.

"It is an intersting way of gauging the problem and people seem to feel strongly about it and have been ringing in to say thank you for highlighting it."

The Telegraph plans to present its findings to North East Lincolnshire Council.

A rat