St George's Day marks the triumph of man's courage in the face of adversity and the slaying of a great beast that plagued the land, making its conqueror a hero for generations to come.

History may well have repeated itself this weekend when Brian Watson, a grandfather from Consett, County Durham, discovered a giant rat near his home and was able to beat it to death with a chunk of wood.

First spotted by the boyfriend of his granddaughter, Watson said: "I heard him shouting there was a large rat."

Without a moment's hesitation, Watson says he ran towards the rat.

"I managed to grab some wood on the way," he added.

"It wasn't very fast... I think it was due to drop young ones," Watson said, trying to explain why he thought it might be so big.

Fortunately, before the rat could give birth and do untold harm to his home and family, Watson was able to dispose of the rat.

"I managed to kill it there and then," Watson told Sky Tyne and Wear. "I've never seen a rat as big in my life before."

He revealed that he tried to pick up the rat with a paddle, but it broke under the rat's weight.

The Watsons left the rat where it was for a few days, before deciding to burn the animal after word got around. Luckily, the family were able to take a number of pictures of the animal, believed to be a coypu.

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