A WOMAN is fed up and in tears after being forced to live with rats for over a month.
Shannon Clark, who lives in Evesham, has not slept in days due to rats in her loft and regularly bursts into tears during the night over a month after she first reported the pest infestation.
She feels let down and like a second-class citizen after both Wychavon Council and Citizen Housing have failed to address the problem.
Whilst pest control did visit her home in early October the problem has recently become worse saying that some of them might have died as the smell has become much worse.
Miss Clark said: "It's been an absolute nightmare.
"They have been here since at least early September but now they are really starting to smell, I think some of them may have died.
"The council want nothing to do with it and Citizen Housing, who I have a tenancy agreement with, said that in the contract it is my job to deal with them, but I don't own the property."
Wychavon District Council said it was not up to them and that the situation was between Miss Clark and Citizen Housing, however said that in most cases dealing with pests is down to the resident.
Miss Clarke continued: "It's really affecting my mental health.
"I don't sleep anymore, I can hear them above my bed and if I turn the heating on they get louder.
"On Saturday (October 26) I woke up at 3.30am, sat on my bed, and cried for 30 minutes.
"I'm tempted to go to the council offices and refuse to leave.
"I've had pest control in but the rats are still here.
"I just want them gone."
Neighbours are also suffering from the same problem according to Miss Clarke.
Head of estates and services at Citizen, Elly Dix, said: “We are sorry to hear about the concerns Miss Clark has in regards to rats in the communal areas around her property, leading to fears they are in her own property as well.
“The issues were first reported to us on September 30 and our pest controllers attended week commencing October 7 where they put down bait in communal spaces and boarded an area where they wanted to check if rodents had been entering.
“As rats have since been reported as heard but not seen, we have continued treatments and checks.
"We have also called Miss Clark to organise a further visit for tomorrow (November 1) as we are keen to get this completed for her.
"Treatment is continuing at Littleworth Street until it is signed off as clear.
“While it is a customer’s responsibility to deal with rats in their own property, it’s our responsibility as a landlord to take action if rodents are in communal areas and we will continue to work with Miss Clark to resolve this issue in her property too.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here