RAT numbers in Bolton are on the rise, with infestation numbers among the highest in the UK.

Infestations of rodents, wasps, ants and cockroaches mean residents in the town made more pest control call-outs last year than anywhere else in Greater Manchester.

In a survey of 407 councils nationwide, Bolton had the 18th highest number of rat-related call-outs per 1,000 people between March 2013 and 2014 – a rise from the year before, when it ranked 30th.

Last year Bolton Council officers were called out to 2,723 rat infestations — an average of seven a day.

This is the ninth highest figure in the UK — putting Bolton ahead of Manchester city council, which has a population nearly double the size of the town.

But a council spokesman said the statistics were not comparable or meaningful as some authorities charge for pest control whereas others, such as Bolton, provide the service for free.

Last year the council also tackled 715 mouse infestations, 712 problems with wasps, 622 ant issues and 27 cockroach call-outs.

There were also 455 infestations of other insects reported and 90 concerns about bedbugs.

In total, the authority responded to 5,440 pest control call-outs, which averages at 19.65 per 1,000 people.

This is the 21st highest ranking in the UK — a seven percent rise on the 5,075 callouts reported the year before — and the top figure for Greater Manchester.

The data, published in the British Pest Control Association’s (BPCA) annual survey, was obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

Simon Forrester, chief executive of the BPCA, said: “There are many localised reasons why a particular area could have a high prevalence of a certain pest, but we are concerned that services are being cut across the country.”

A council spokesman said: "The council offers a comprehensive service for the removal of most types of pests. We do not believe that there is a higher proportion of pests in the borough than in other parts of Greater Manchester or the UK.

"However, low take-up in other areas may be linked to the other councils' charging policies.

"Bolton Council still offers a free service for the treatment of rats and mice, so consequently, we have a higher proportion of residents requesting the service is carried out by the council.”

But Mr Forrester said spending cuts – which have seen the number of councils providing free pest control decline by 26 per cent in the last four years – could spark a pest population explosion.

He added: “Many who once provided pest control free of charge have either introduced charges or done away with their service altogether in a bid to balance the books.

“The pest population is higher than ever as a result and the problem is likely to get much worse, so we’re worried that short-term budget cuts will result in higher overall costs down the line.”

A total of 679,110 pest treatments were carried out by local authorities between 2010 and 2011. That figure dropped to 501,595 between 2013 and 2014.