A Birmingham mother has described her housing nightmare after rats infested her home, leaving her unable to use basic appliances and crying in bed over the state of the property.
Living in fear
Chloe Adams, 20, has lived in the property on South Road, Hockley, for 12 months. The home is managed by housing association Midland Heart. She says holes in the kitchen wall and rats chewing through wiring have made her life a 'constant nightmare.'
She told BirminghamLive: 'All I want is a move from Hockley. I understand the housing situation is crazy at the moment, but it's terrible here. It's a constant nightmare. The other day, all I did was sit in bed and cry. I can't do that because I've a two-year-old and need to be the best I can be. But this gets me down. I ask myself how Midland Heart could leave a single mum and child in a property like this?'
Infestation details
Chloe cannot use her washing machine or oven after rats chewed through the appliances. She has to wash clothes in the bathtub and bring suitcases of laundry to her grandfather's house. The rats have also bitten through pipes in her cooker, leaving her with no way to cook meals.
She recalled a terrifying incident five months ago: 'I was in the kitchen washing up when I turned around and saw this thing running at me. I jumped up on the kitchen screaming, luckily my daughter wasn't there at the time.'
Chloe and a friend removed panelling and discovered a massive hole at the back of the cupboard, which she believes is how rats are getting in. Pest control workers laid traps with poison but did not fix the holes, and she can still see rats on camera footage.
Response from Midland Heart
A spokesperson for Midland Heart said: 'We were sorry to hear about the issues Ms Adams has reported. We have been working closely with Ms Adams and specialist pest controllers to help address her concerns since last Summer. We have attended the property several times in the last year to both seal up potential access points and provide advice around food storage. On a recent visit to her home, neither we nor the specialist pest controllers were able to find evidence of a new infestation. We will revisit again in the coming days to reassess and implement a new treatment plan should it be needed.'
Chloe also mentioned that when she moved in, the carpet was removed, leaving nails all over the floor, and she was told to 'get them out ourselves.' She described the situation as 'the scariest thing ever' and is desperate to move.
