A STUDENT is living in fear after being plagued by massive rats that "jump out of bins and try to bite her."

       Emily Haigh, 19, said she's petrified to take her rubbish out because the walkway behind her house in Leeds is riddled with huge rats - and she claims there's at least 30 living in the communal bin.

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       Emily Haigh, 19, is terrified as the massive rats live inside the communal bin 6

       She claims the rats, which have overrun the communal area, are twice the size of normal rodents Credit: Emily Haigh

       Emily, a student studying in the city, said she can't open the bin because the rats jump out and "attack and bite" her.

       The pests, which she says are "twice the size" of normal rats, scurry across the area - leaving the locals terrified to drop off their rubbish.

       Pictures next to the area show the deep holes that the rats have burrowed into to live - before they sneak out and eat the food inside the rubbish bins.

       She and her friends moved into the property in July - and they were forced to report the pest problems immediately.

       Emily told the Sun Online: "I'm from Leeds, so I know that there are rats about, but I’ve never seen anything like this.

       "They’re massive, so big. They’re like twice the size of normal rats.

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       "They’re huge and really noisy. You can stand on the doorstep and hear them.

       "We moved in and it was quite bad from the beginning. There were always just rats around, and you would see them in the evening.

       "It just got to the point where I would open the top of the bin and there were 30 rats in there and they would all jump out.

       "And I was like - 'no chance'."

       She said that the council have been contacted twice - but both times the contractors said that there was nothing they could do because the affected area was a communal space.

       Despite her landlord helping the student through the situation, the 19-year-old also said that the council told her to "just keep the bins closed" in order to keep the rat problem at bay.

       RAT ATTACK

       But now the residents are forced to sprawl their black bin bags across the pavement - which has caused even more rodents to swarm around the area.

       Emily added: "We don’t have separate bins, it’s all communal, which is obviously awful because it’s making the situation even worse.

       "We can’t take our bins out because the rats are living in there.

       "The bin bags are being ripped into if we leave them on the side of the streets, and there’s going to be even more rats. It’s a vicious circle really.

       "I’m absolutely terrified of them and so are all of my flatmates. I'm fed up of being almost bit and attacked every time I take my bins out."

       A Leeds City Council spokesperson said: “We are investigating a recent report made of possible rat activity in the area.”

       This comes after a rat was caught on camera hauling a Big Mac burger box over a busy road.

       The hungry rodent was captured on video in Tankersley, South Yorkshire, and is seen hauling the cardboard box which is roughly the same size as him.

       In the video, with the burger box between its teeth, the smart rat even manages to negotiate a kerb whilst still dragging the junk food.

       Trucker Chris, who filmed the video, said that prior to the rat taking the McDonald’s box, a crow had already been on the case hoovering up left-over fries.

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       Residents say that the rats are 'twice the size' of normal ones Credit: Emily Haigh 6

       Because residents can't open the bins, they are forced to drop them on the side - which then get ripped open by the hungry rats Credit: Emily Haigh 6

       Clips show the massive rats scurrying around the communal area 6

       The ground surrounding the communal area is covered in burrows - where the rats have settled and made their home Credit: Emily Haigh