An anxious mother fears children could be at risk from injury or serious illness after she spotted rats in a Canvey car park.

The woman, who does not want to be named, was waiting for a bus with her young son near the Haystack pub, in Furtherwick Road, when she saw two large rats scurrying around.

She immediately phoned Castle Point Council's environmental health department and was told she was not the first to report the problem.

A council officer assured her the problem would be dealt with in six weeks' time.

However, the mother said that is not soon enough: "A child could be bitten by these rats. We have got a fortnight's holiday coming up and we can't have these rats roaming around."

The woman said the rats were the biggest she had ever seen and they were out in broad daylight. She said: "I thought they were cats at first - they were so big. I felt like I was back in the Dickensian age."

Joe Cooke, Labour chairman of the council's environmental health committee, said: "This problem has just been brought to my attention, but I will be chasing up faster action than six weeks."

Roy Knowles, assistant director of health, said on Friday: "We know about the rats and we have got it in hand.

"Pest control are going down there today to assess the situation."

Published Monday, March 25, 2002