A WORRIED Andover dad has banned his children from playing in their own back garden because of an Artists Way rat infestation.

The rat invasion is thought to have been triggered by the start of work on a Testway Housing 'green' homes development.

Father-of-three, Sean Tay-lor, from Sutherland Court, has reported sightings of the vermin since brambles were cleared from the site a fortnight ago.

And now the 32-year-old fears for the health of his young children if he lets them play in the back garden.

"I've got a two-year-old, a four-year-old and a seven-year-old and we have to keep them inside instead of letting them go out the back," he said.

"It's not what you expect in this day and age," he added. Mr Taylor said his next- door neighbours have also seen rats in their back gardens.

"They're big things and we've had three of them here at once.

"I'm not sure how they are getting in but it's just a matter of time before they come back," he said.

Work on the 17 eco-friendly flats is expected to be completed by April 2007.

A Test Valley Borough Council spokeswoman said that the environment and health department's pest control officer had visited three homes in Sutherland Court but hadn't seen any rats or droppings.

She added: "A possibility could be that building work caused a displacement of rats, but if there was more evidence of them it could be treated like an infestation is treated."

Julian Peacock, Testway's senior development officer, said: "At the moment we do not have any evidence that the rats have come from the building site.

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