MASTER rat-catcher Nip, and his owner Billy Thompson, have hung up their bait stations for the last time.

Mr Thompson is retiring after 22 years as a pest control officers for Hambleton District Council.

He said: "You name it and we have dealt with it. Everything you see on these television shows is here in Hambleton - rats, mice, bed bugs, fleas, wasps, bees - the list is endless.

"And not just in the countryside but in the towns as well. We have had some dreadful jobs to tackle and some very funny ones, but they were all in a day's work."

One of his worst call-outs was to help the RSPCA deal with 16 cats that lived with an elderly lady. She thought nothing of dropping fresh meat on the floor for them, which attracted more than just cats.

"Then there was the lady who had mice but did not want them killed - until, that is, one of them sat on her lap while she was watching the television," said Mr Thompson.

Raised on a farm, he worked as gamekeeper for 20 years before joining Hambleton.

"Many people wondered why I took Nip along with me, but he was an important tool of the trade," said Mr Thompson, who lives in Topcliffe, near Thirsk.

"If we couldn't find the rat, then Nip would. He saved us a lot of time, especially in houses where rats and mice get into crevices. He found mice in fridges and rats in washing machines."