A single mum on Universal Credit has been forced to leave her home over Christmas due to a fly infestation.
Sonya Bullock says flies started coming into her South Tyneside home in September and have become such a problem she's moved into a hotel over Christmas with her two-year-old son.
The 45-year-old bought the flat on River Drive, in South Shields, from South Tyneside Council in 2008 but says they have failed to help her find out the cause of the flies - despite paying a maintenance and building insurance charge.
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Instead, she has paid hundreds of pounds for a private company to find the root of the problem with no success.
She said: "I researched these flies and discovered they were drain flies so I spent a lot of money cleaning the drains.
"These flies just would not disappear so I decided to contact the Environmental Health Department who told me they do not come out for flies.
"He said I would need to find the breeding source and wish me luck as they can breed in pipes, drains and gutters.
"I've spent months trying to find the breeding source and paid Dyno and Dyno Rod to help me but no luck."
Sonya, who believes the flies may be coming from a leak near her bathroom, says the fly infestation has caused a deterioration in her mental health.
Her doctor has prescribed her antidepressants and she's suspended the college course she began in September.
To escape the flies, she has stayed at her mum's with her two-year-old boy, Hudson, and checked into hotels which her family has helped pay for.
She said: "When I bought the flat I was working and in a better position but I lost my job during the pandemic.
"I'm on Universal Credit but don't get help to pay my mortgage, and my husband died earlier this year.
"I have been staying with my mum but she just has a fold out bed so I have stayed in hotels with my son to escape the house.
"We are in one over Christmas and I haven't been able to afford any Christmas presents for my son, or family this year.
A spokesperson for South Tyneside Council said: “Surveyors have visited the property on several occasions, most recently today, and have been unable to determine the source or cause of flies.
“They have also not identified any leaks in the bathroom.
“We will arrange for a surveyor to revisit in the New Year and further inspect the property.”
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