A mother has spoken of her growing concerns after finding mice in her home, just inches away from where her baby sleeps. Brooke Salkeld said she has been trying since 2021 to get her landlord to listen to her fears around the rodents being in the property, which she shares with her three children.
The 29-year-old single mum said the final straw for her was when she noticed a pair of mice next to her baby daughter Ayla's bouncy chair. Despite local officials saying the problem has been resolved after a visit from a pest control team, Ms Salked said she was furious that it took two years to sort out.
Ms Salkend moved into the home in 2020 and lives there with Ayla, who is seven months old, and her two other children - Blake, six, and Oakley, four. She told ChronicleLive they were promised a new kitchen and bathroom when they moved in, but this has not happened.
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"I accepted the house on the understanding the kitchen and bathroom would be replaced, as the kitchen in particular is rotten," the Newcastle resident said. "The hinges are rusting because it is so old and I am sure the mice are getting in under the kitchen cupboards.
"I know that there will have been a backlog due to Covid, but I think I have been very patient. The house was empty for 10 months before we moved in and we have been told by one of the pest control people that the mice had been using my home as a breeding place and as soon as I moved in and turned on the heating, they came out to play.
"I called out Your Homes Newcastle as soon as I was aware of the problem, but although pest control came in 2021 and 2022, the problem is still here and is getting worse, as they are also getting in though gaps in the sitting room, beside the main water stopcock for the house, but I have been told the holes can not be filled in until the problem has been completely eliminated, so it's a vicious circle. Every day I clean out the mess and the next day it is back.
"When pest control came out in 2021, they could not remove the kickboard from the kitchen because the kitchen is in such as state, so they just put poison down through a gap. I still can't get the kickboard off so I have no way of knowing if I have dead mice - or worse - under my kitchen units.
"The workmen said they could not fill in the gaps under there as it would have to be done as part of my new kitchen, when I got it. We can't relax in our home and it is causing the whole family so much stress.
"My son is disabled with hydrocephalus and epilepsy and he is terrified. He won't walk around the floor without footwear on because he's so scared and he sits with his legs up crossed on the sofa.
"It's affecting my mental health and Blake's sleeping is worse then it already was. This isn't how a young family should live and when I saw a mouse running past Ayla's bouncy chair, that was it for me. I've put up with this for two years now, and my patience has run out.
"The mice are just brazen - they were just chilling beside the bouncy chair like they owned the house. Now I feel I can't even put my baby down on the floor to play as she was hysterical when she saw the mice beside her chair."
Jen Vinton, group director of housing services for Your Homes Newcastle said: "A manager from Your Homes Newcastle’s repairs team attended the property as a matter of urgency following a report of mice at the property. This visit was followed up by Newcastle City Council’s pest control team and a senior technical surveyor from YHN who also inspected the surrounding area to establish the root cause. We were able to confirm that there was no trace of rats.
"Newcastle City Council’s pest control team have since returned to the property and immediately carried out remedial work to eliminate the problem with the mice. All of our homes receive replacement kitchens and bathrooms as part of our planned investment programme.
"Our Investment programme is based on lifecycle replacements to ensure that every property meets the Decent Homes Standard. Our replacement dates are more generous than the Government's Decent Homes Standard guidelines.
"The kitchen in Ms Salkeld’s home is due to be replaced as part of this programme in 2025 and the bathroom in 2030. We will however, organise an inspection of both the kitchen and bathroom to understand the current condition and whether any work is required in the interim or if a replacement is required ahead of the programmed dates.
"We appreciate the difficulties with the mice will have been stressful for Ms Salkeld and her family, but we have worked alongside Newcastle City Council’s pest control team to respond to this as quickly as possible."
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