A terrified grandmother claims she has been forced to sleep in her car and can no longer cope with a "vile" rat infestation which has taken over nearly every room of her bungalow.
Paula Cooper moved into her council-owned bungalow in Hockley Farm Road, Braunstone, Leicester, in October last year, and soon discovered she was not the only occupant, Leicestershire Live reports.
The gran realised she was living with rats three months in and reported the pests to Leicester City Council.
She claims the council’s environmental health team has visited the bungalow and taken action, but the pests have not gone away.
Ms Cooper said: “They’ve blocked all the holes up on the outside so nothing can get in, but I’ve still got them in the attic.
"You can hear them running up and down the walls, and there are rat droppings everywhere.
"They’ve chewed all my carpet down the back of my sofa. They’re nesting under my TV unit.
"They’ve chewed through the plug wire of my TV. They’ve chewed through my aerial wire.
“I’m getting them in the bathroom, in the kitchen, just everywhere, " she added.
"I have rat droppings on the back of my bath, rat droppings in the kitchen.
"The only place I’ve not seen one is in my bedroom, but I still won’t sleep in there just in case. I am so scared.
“I don’t stay in. There have been nights where I have slept in the car because of it.
"I’ve slept round my friends' because of it, and at my daughter's. I feel sick every day.
"I walk into the bungalow and I’m thinking 'the rats have been out, I can smell it.' It is vile.”
Ms Cooper claims the authority's Environmental Health team put down a rat trap but said it had made no difference.
Ms Cooper, who suffers from depression and anxiety, as well as fibromyalgia, asthma and arthritis, said the situation had left her feeling isolated and unable to cope.
She said: “My bungalow stinks, I don’t like having anybody in because of the smell, so I’m basically on my own.
"I don’t want my grandchildren in my bungalow. I’ve got a three-year-old granddaughter.
"I can’t even have her up to visit because of the situation. Nobody will come and visit.
“My depression is hitting the roof, my nerves are just all over the place. I just don’t know what to do, I can’t cope anymore. I’m not eating, I’m not sleeping.
“I’ve now got something on my hands that keeps coming up as little red bumps. I’ve bought every different poison you can get, I’ve bought rat traps. It’s just getting beyond a joke now.”
One of Ms Cooper’s granddaughters, Rhianna, wrote to the local paper worried about her grandmother’s health and wellbeing.
She said: “She absolutely loved moving into her bungalow, but now she feels scared to even sleep [there]. Since the rats came in, she constantly feels sick, recently just had an eye infection and now has blistered hands.
“My nanna shouldn’t have to live like this and should be able to enjoy her life worry free. [She] does not know who to go to next to ask for help.”
Ms Cooper added that since going to the press the council had been in touch with her to discuss the situation further.
A Leicester City Council spokesperson said: “We sympathise with Ms Cooper’s situation and are working to get it resolved, including having visited her home to discuss the options available to her.
“She declined an offer of temporary accommodation while we deal with the infestation, and we are assisting her on how to make an insurance claim to replace the damaged furnishings.
“Repairs were carried out last week to a drain thought to be at the source of the rat problem, and our pest control team will be making a follow-up visit to check if any further work is needed.
"The kitchen has been inspected and meets our standards and requires no further work.”
