Huge rat saved by brave teenager after Belfast street kicking

A brave Belfast teenager rescued a huge street rat from a kicking by wrapping it in her work apron before taking it for veterinary treatment.

Lace Hollingworth was walking to work in the city centre when she spotted a large crowd that had gathered were looking at something on the ground.

She says as she approached she witnessed a middle aged man repeatedly kick a large brown rat across the pavement at Royal Avenue.

Lace, 19, said: “I have never seen anything so cruel. I could hear the rat squealing and the man just kept kicking it with great force, like it was a football.

Kind hearted Lace carried the injured rat for miles to get it help
“I shouted at him to leave the rat alone and ran to shield the rat from him. It was writhing in pain on the pavement and covered in blood. I think it was paralysed in fear. So much for the myth that a cornered rat will attack. This one was stock still.

“I screamed at him to stop but no one else said a word. The rat was just lying on the pavement breathing fast, bloody and broken so I pushed through the crowd and placed my work apron over it. People started to walk away and the man who' been kicking the rat just disappeared with them.

“I didn’t know what to do so I gathered the rat up in my apron and started to carry it to work. That’s when I realised just how big it was.

Lace Hollingworth
“It was about a foot in length and filled my arms even without its tail. I thought I could at least get it into a cardboard box until I could work out what to do next. I couldn't just leave it to die there in agony.

“I walked to my work at Lush and when I got there my colleagues were so worried because I was crying and obviously very distressed.

“I explained to them what had happened and they looked astonished that I had picked up a rat.