EAST Lancashire is under siege from swarms of wasps as councils record the highest number of complaints in years.

Reports of the insects are up 150 per cent in some parts - prompting safety warnings for binmen.

But people who are stung have been urged not to worry and instead head to the chemist.

The rise in numbers has been blamed on the mild winter, which allowed more queen wasps to survive - causing the population in some areas to soar by 30 per cent.

Blackburn with Darwen Council has recorded the highest increase in East Lancashire - up from 165 last year to 406 this year.

And Steve Todd, chief environmental services officer for Hyndburn Council, said: "Requests for wasp nest treatment have gone up dramatically in the last two or three weeks."

Ribble Valley Borough Council's environmental health manager, James Russell, said the number of complaints had risen from 232 to 345 this year.

A spokeswoman for Rossendale Council said they had received 214 wasp complaints since June, a third more than is normal for this time of year.

She said: "We have been extremely busy and calls are still coming in thick and fast."

Experts also claim changes in farming habits have led to the rise.

Dr Michael Archer, a retired lecturer in animal behaviour, said: "The trend of intensive farming and increased use of pesticides, which killed wasps, has reversed with schemes now aimed at encouraging wildlife."

A spokesman for East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust added: "We would urge people to seek attention for stings from a chemist rather than come to hospital, unless they know they have particular problems with stings."

But in Burnley, it's not wasps which are causing problems - it's fleas.

A council spokesman said: "We have seen an increase in the number of call-outs to people reporting infestations of fleas or rats. It could be down to the weather conditions.

"In dry weather rats come out of the drains looking for water."