Rat attacks girl in her sleep

A seven-year-old girl from the Forest of Dean 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, when 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 spotten the blood on her face.

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

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."