A Peckham family has been living with rats living under the floorboards of their council flat for eighteen months.
Disabled couple Christine and Victor Gage have been complaining of rats scratching at the floor of their young adult daughter Lisa’s bedroom since late 2020.
The smell of the rats and the sound of their scratching got so bad recently that Lisa had to sleep in the front room of the ground floor flat for three months. Her ex-boyfriend even refused to sleep in the room because the sound and smell were so unpleasant, Lisa said. “He said ‘what’s that noise? I’m sorry, I’ve got to go home’ and just left.”
Southwark Council have sent pest control workers to the flat in Sidmouth House on Commercial Way several times, but they have been unable to get rid of the problem despite putting poison down. Council workers looked down a drain with a special camera, apparently telling Christine and Victor that the rats were “as big as cats”.
“We shouldn’t have to live like this,” said Christine, who has recently had a stroke and has a kind of blood poisoning that affects her legs. Victor, who has been hospitalised twice recently with heart attacks and walks on crutches, asked, gesturing at Lisa: “Why should she have to live in a bedroom what’s got rats underneath?”
Sadly, rats aren’t the only problem the family have had with their flat, which they moved into in November 2019. They also suffered a leak from above in Christine and Victor’s bedroom. The leak has now been fixed. Other problems have included issues with the bathroom and flooring in the flat.
Cllr Darren Merrill, cabinet member for council homes and homelessness, said: “We apologise for the delayed works to address this rat infestation. We have booked a visit for next week, when we will do our best to resolve the matter.
“We replaced a broken kitchen waste pipe in the property above some weeks ago. The leak has since stopped and we have arranged an inspection of the ceiling next week.”
This vermin problem is southwark wide we are still dealing with the same ! Southwark council need to do more !!!!