A St Albans pest controller has launched a pre-emptive strike on social media ahead of any negative reviews of his service.

Tim Simmons, owner of The Verminator, wanted to avoid poor feedback from a disgruntled customer who had threatened to bad-mouth him on Facebook.

The St Albans resident had telephoned Tim and asked him to visit her Marshalswick home to address the issue of mice in her house and loft.

Tim said: "She told me she was vegan and she didn't like killing things so I tried to persuade not to go ahead with the traps as they do not preserve the life of the mouse but she said there were too many mice in the loft and she wanted them gone.

"The next day she texted me to pick up my traps, and when I went there were some dead mice in the trap. I later invoiced the lady for £120 for two visits and I did not hear from her for a couple of days.

"She then said she thought it was too much money - although she has now paid it reluctantly - and she said she is going to counteract any positive reviews or recommendations I may have had on social media with negative ones!

"I have build up my whole reputation over 14 years and everyone is usually happy with what I do. I am scared this woman is going to ruin my livelihood."

Tim subsequently posted an account of his experiences on various Facebook pages before the woman could write any scathing reviews, and said he was overwhelmed by the positive comments from his long-standing customers.