A mum whose home is infested with rats found herself at breaking point after locating a rat in her oven while attempting to make tea for her toddlers.
The woman, who wishes to be named as Victoria, has persistently had issues with rats and mice after moving into the Leicester City Council-owned property in December 2021, Leicestershire Live reports.
She said: “Ever since I moved in, I’ve had mice running around constantly. They were all over my kids beds.
“It has been horrendous. You can’t sleep because of mice nibbling at the door and running around everywhere. My kids can’t run around because they’re just there everywhere.
"We have no furniture. We have nothing in the property because the rats have eaten everything. Its not fair on my partner to keep having to move the mice when they've died. It's not fair the fur is making him poorly."
The 22-year-old said the final straw happened several weeks ago, when she found a live rat in her oven, after attempting to make dinner for her two three-year-olds.
She recalled: "When I opened the oven to cook for my kids, it was trying to get out. So I quickly closed the oven and I broke down to my partner and said 'Can you go check the oven, there's a rat in it'. He didn't want to believe it, but it was trapped in there.
“It took the rat being in my cooker for the council to move us out to a hotel. That’s how bad it had to get before they moved us from there.
“The mice and rats are in the block now, they’re running around,” she added.
“They’ve put poison everywhere, but the rats aren’t dying.”
Victoria, who is pregnant with her third child, says the flat also has problem with mould which has made her and her family ill.
She added: “I’m an asthmatic, my son is an asthmatic. Around Christmas time, we couldn’t sleep in our bedrooms, so we all had to sleep in one room. The mould is extremely bad, my partner got really, really poorly, he couldn’t breathe.
“It’s all in my lounge again, it’s just coming back constantly. It’s all behind my toilet in the bathroom.”
The city council agreed to move the family into a hotel as a temporary measure after Victoria found the rat in her oven.
She said she does not want to go back, but said the council initially told her that she would ultimately have to return to the same home.
“I don’t want to go back, and I’ve told the council this," she said. "But they want to put us back in that situation and I don’t want to be there.
“It’s just making me really low, and I’m worried about my kids. I want them to move me but they’re refusing, because they’re saying they’ll do the repairs.
“But [the rodents are] just going to come back. Pest control has told them that they will just find every which way to come back in.”
However after LeicestershireLive went to the city council, it got in touch with Victoria to confirm that it intends to move her permanently to a separate home and aid her financially.
She can't even cook while they are living in the hotel, and has been depending on takeaways.
Victoria said: “We are paying for everything ourselves. The only thing the hotel provides is breakfast, which is a box breakfast.
"Everyday we have to buy takeaways. We’ve been struggling to provide as much.
“Takeaways are expensive. Everyday, with lunch and dinner, every single day. We have to provide that for our kids because they have to eat.
"My family have had to help me provide for that.”
A Leicester City Council spokesperson said: “We know that this has been an upsetting time for the tenant and we have acted promptly to support her and address her concerns.
“Following a complaint received in late-December, we have carried out work to treat for an infestation of mice and repaired holes in the property to proof it against vermin. No evidence of rats was found.
“An inspection for damp was also booked, but unfortunately the tenant was not available to let staff into the property at the appointed time.
“We acted quickly to arrange temporary hotel accommodation from mid-January – at the tenant’s request – and we are also providing additional support from our STAR team.
“A support worker met with the tenant earlier this week and an application for funds to replace damaged furniture was submitted.
"Unfortunately, no concerns about food were raised by the tenant at this time.
"However, we are now aware that is an issue and the family will be moved to half board temporary accommodation this weekend.
"Supermarket food vouchers have also been provided.
“The only previous complaint we have received from this tenant was in early 2022.
"An appointment for a damp inspection was arranged but nobody was at home when our staff visited.
"Our pest control team also made several attempts to get in contact with the tenant to arrange a visit, but had no response.
“We are now working with the tenant to find alternative housing for her and her family.”
