A MEETING is being called to discuss the problem of rats infesting a North-East city's historic streets.

Scores of tourists walk through the Blackfriars quarter of Newcastle, which includes Chinatown, every day.

But in recent months there has been a huge upsurge in the number of rats seen in the alleyways and lanes off Stowell Street.

Pest control officers have carried out repeated baiting of the countless rat holes in flower beds, grassed areas and cobbled lanes.

And last weekend Northumbria Water flushed local drains free of the cooking fat that had blocked them and driven the rats who lived there above ground.

The reduction in the number of rats was only temporary though, with waste from the district's Chinese restaurants continuing to attract vermin.

The city council is now setting up a meeting between restaurant owners, local residents, agents who manage flats in the area and council officers.

The public is also being asked to provide photo evidence of restaurants not disposing of litter properly.