HORRIFIED neighbours told yesterday how their homes are being invaded by giant rats - including a 30-INCH LONG monster that was shot dead.

The rodents, twice the size of common types, are plaguing an estate in Bradford, West Yorks, often appearing in kitchens and lounges.

It is feared some could be "super rats" from South America.

Pictured above is a monster 2¥ft rat killed on the estate.

But the shaken man who shot it in the head - 31-year-old Brandon Goddard - yesterday revealed FOUR others of the same size scuttled away to safety.

And he said: "They were more like Ratzillas than rats.

"I got out of there as fast as I could. Who knows how many there will be if they`ve been breeding?"

The shot rat, feared to be from a species native to South America, is TWICE as big as common British types and the largest seen here.

The residents of Ravenscliffe estate in Bradford, West Yorks, are used to seeing massive rodents that sometimes appear in their kitchens and lounges.

Even so, the new colony shocked them. Shown a picture of the dead creature, mum-of-five Rebecca Holmes, 38, gasped: "Oh my God! I`ve seen them as big as cats but never that big."
sections: Celebrities