Pest controller called to 'rat infestation' finds single rubber mouse

Adam Leonard said it was probably his easiest call out

A pest controller had "a good laugh" with a tenant when he discovered "the rat infestation" he had come to deal with was no more than a toy mouse.

Adam Leonard from Advance Pest Control in Bristol was called to a house in the St George area of the city on Monday by tenants worried about rodents.

When he arrived he was told they had spotted a mouse in the cupboard that was either dead or in "stealth mode".

He said it was probably "the easiest call out in pest control history".

When he arrived at the house, Mr Leonard said he "got all ready and got all my PPE... my mask and my gloves ready to deal with the infestation at hand".

Mr Leonard has been working in pest control for 29 years and has run his own company for the past 13 years

Then he opened the cupboard and discovered a rubber mouse had been left there, which was the sort you might "stick on the end of a pencil".

"In essence, [there was] not too much I could do.

"I took the mouse away, had a good old laugh with the lady and was on my merry way," he added.

Mr Leonard said he had a good laugh with the woman about it

He said normally the job would involve lifting drains, "looking for breaks where rats can enter into houses and looking for breaks in fabric for mice ingress, so this really was the easiest job in my 29 years of working in pest control."

"If they were all like that, my jobs would be quicker and I'd be a millionaire," he added.