Family forced out of home by rats
Last updated at 11:34, Thursday, 04 October 2012
A GREENBANK family have moved out of their rat-infested home because they are “terrified” to live there.
Carly Bestford said she and partner Gary and children Evie, three, and Lily, four months old, moved out of their Valley View Road home after hearing rats in the wall cavities.
She said: “I went downstairs one night to make the baby’s bottle and I heard them [the rats] squealing and running around. I was absolutely terrified.”
She says the problems began when landlords Home Group started to install insulation in the property.
She claims as a result of holes being made in the internal and external walls by workers, rats have come into the house and are living there.
A spokesperson for Home Group says it is not clear how the rats entered the property and an investigation is ongoing.
Miss Bestford says the rats have been going through holes in the kitchen cupboards, in the bathroom and have even eaten a bath sponge in the bathroom.
“I’m concerned because of the diseases that rats carry, it’s not safe for my children to live there.
“I won’t take them back to the house until its sorted,” she added.
The family say they contacted a pest control firm last week, which has put poison in the property to get rid of the vermin.
“As a result they are now staying with relatives.
She said: “It’s hard work because we just want to go home.
“I’ve been in touch with Home Group and they said a contractor will come out next week, so we’ll have to stay out of the house until them.”
A Home Group spokesperson said: “Home Group apologises for any inconvenience caused by work on the customer’s property, and we understand their concern regarding rats in their home.
“The holes were made during essential cavity wall insulation work, and Home Group will ensure that these are repaired as soon as possible by the contractors on site.
“One of our property contract supervisors will make certain that this work has been completed to a satisfactory level before the work is signed off.
“It isn’t clear how the rats have entered the property, but we have commissioned a pest management service to remove the rats and investigate the cause of the problem, after which we will decide whether any further action needs to be taken.”
First published at 11:12, Thursday, 04 October 2012
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk
Perhaps Anne the problem of rats could be countered if the poeple of this borough were not so flagrant and proficient in littering the highways and byways. The attitude to our surroundings is appalling and litter and fly tipping is endemic. The gateway to the Western Lakes resembles nothing more than a landfill site, my walks in and around the sea cliffs are a vivid illustration of the lack of care towards our natural environment
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I caught 17 rats in less than a month using rat traps not to mention the ones my cats killed!! where the council interested??? where they hell! we dont deal with vermin we give you the number of a local exterminator who is reasonably priced!!! £50 isnt resonably priced to someone on the dole!!! & when the estates over run with them, 1 resident paying when every street needs treated is like spitting in the wind!!!!
Posted by Sue on 10 October 2012 at 19:18