WORCESTER mayor Aubrey Tarbuck thought he smelled a rat when he was driving off to see relatives up north over the festive period.

Councillor Tarbuck first knew something was amiss as he pulled his Volvo V70R car out of the garage as the steering was tighter than usual and a warning light came on.

And lo and behold, when he looked under the bonnet, he saw a bunch of cables had been

nibbled at.

There was also rats' droppings and urine on the engine and when he looked around the garage he saw one.

The mayor, of Moseley Road, Hallow, took the car to a garage, but was told staff would not be back until Tuesday to work on it.

He said: "I was just shocked when I saw what had happened and really couldn't believe it because it's not the sort of thing you expect."

Coun Tarbuck was given a replacement car but the setback meant he had to put his annual trip to visit his niece and nephews in Nottingham to exchange presents on hold until the weekend.

The tale did not end there though. When he returned home, he checked under his wife Anne's car bonnet and found a rat nesting under there.

Luckily, it had not gnawed through anything, but Coun Tarbuck decided to err on the side of caution, and has kept the replacement car parked outside to steer clear of the rats.

It is not the first time he has had trouble with the pests as he had to call out vermin control about six months ago when he had them in his garden.

The cost of the damage to the car unknown and Mr Tarbuck is waiting to hear from his insurance company to see if he is covered.

He added: "I'm fully comprehensive but I'm not sure whether that covers vermin getting in!

"It could be quite expensive though because all these cables run to the onboard computers." and so on."