Foot-long-rat attacks girl as she sleeps

A seven-year-old girl from Herefordshire woke up to find she was being bitten by a rat.

Francesca Williams started screaming in the middle of the night, prompting her parents to come in to her room.

They initially thought she was having a bad dream, until they saw she was covered in blood.

Her parents, Darren and Wendy say they were shocked.

"She said she had been attacked by a brown animal, and as many parent would, we thought it was a nightmare, until Darren spotted blood on her face.

"It was quite scary really, to think that could happen in the middle of the night."

– WENDY WILLIAMS, MOTHER

"Some people can't believe it happened – we can't in some ways. It's an outdoor animal, to come and do that to a child, It seems a bit strange."

– DARREN WILLIAMS, FATHER