EDIT: As well as the Bradford Rat , one has turned up in County Durham as of April 2012.
The Sun can never leave a new story alone. Only a day after the Giant Rat from Bradford, we now have one in Lincoln .
In order to keep the story alive, The Sun skirts neatly around the issue over whether or not it is a giant NATIVE rat or some foreign or escaped species. It carefully includes a link to another – and totally unrelated – story which would allow lesser minds to conclude that the EU is trying to cause Britain to be overrun with these “Giant Rats”.
Let’s face it: unless this is actually a huge native rat, it is virtually a non-story. So The Sun has to keep it on the boil.
Not to be outdone, the Daily Mail is now on the case with its own take on the Lincoln animal. Its headline trumpets: “‘Beast of Bradford’ giant rats found in Lincoln factory… How many monsters are out there?” They’ll be calling in Nick Pope next.
Both newspapers are falling over themselves to interview “shocked, horrified, and terrified” locals – typically old ladies and single mothers of six. Oh, and the bloke who suggests that they might attack a child! They’re even digging up comedians from as far afield as Essex to claim they’ve seen them down there.
It makes you wonder what they’ll report next.
The best piece of information comes from some guy in Leeds:
…Leeds businessman Steve Luya, 55, who lived in Nigeria for years, insisted our picture showed an African Greater Cane Rat that had escaped after being imported.
I’m still confused, though. You see, if I ever saw a rat the size of a small car I’d kick up quite a stink. That’s because it isn’t normal. So I cannot understand why it’s taken until now for these people to reveal that they see them almost daily.