It should be one of the happiest times of her life but this mum-to-be is afraid to even sleep at the house she hoped to bring her new born baby boy home to.
Rebecca Newton, originally from Kirkby-in-Ashfield in Nottinghamshire, is 36 weeks pregnant with her first child.
She moved into a house in Langley Mill, owned by Derwent Living, on Friday, September 24, but now she is scared to even sleep at the property after she discovered a rat infestation in her new home.
While sleeping on the sofa for the first two nights as her and her partner decorated the house, she began hearing scratching and scurrying sounds through the walls, the 19-year-old told Derbyshire Live.
Derwent Living says it is investigating the issue.
The rats have left the Matalan worker terrified of bringing up her baby in her own home and has sometimes resulted in her sleeping at her mother's house.
She said: "I’m scared to be in my home alone. I ended up staying at my mum's house 25 minutes away for two nights because I didn’t want to be here, it’s ridiculous.
"I shouldn’t be made to feel like that when we only moved in recently. This is meant to be my first family home where I bring my newborn baby in a few weeks' time.
"I don’t want to bring my child in this house until I know for sure the rats have gone. I would not have moved in if I knew this was the case.
"They [rats] can carry diseases and I’m not going to put my child’s health at risk because Derwent Living can’t be bothered to do their job and provide a safe home for my family."
The couple say they have been left to fend off the vermin by leaving traps and filling in holes by smashing concrete paving slabs in their back garden.
At one stage she had to stand on the toilet when she saw a rat while getting out of the bath in her two-bedroom terrace, with foam needing to be used to block the hole.
They have also complained to Derwent Living about mould and damp, which was also reported to by previous tenants.
But Rebecca remains concerned about the problems ahead of the arrival of her baby boy next month.
She said: "Rats are just one of the many things on a long list of problems in this house. We have complained that there is damp and mould in the house, nothing has been done about it.
"There is a problem with the windows letting a cold draught through, nothing has been done about it. The first day we came to get the keys we could smell cat faeces and saw holes in the floors. It took them a whole week to do something about it.
"None of these conditions are acceptable to live and especially not for a baby."
Rebecca says that she has woken up to find the rat traps empty, but the bait taken, and has even resorted to more traditional methods like using pepper and covering holes with cardboard to deter the rodents.
A spokesperson for Derwent Living said: “We are working closely with our customer to rectify the issue and have arranged for pest control to visit the property on Wednesday, October 20.
"We will also be following up with an additional inspection. We will continue to monitor the situation and do everything we can to support our customers.”
But Rebecca alleges she was told she would need to fix the problem herself, and has been left frustrated by the time taken to sort the issue.
She added: "Derwent Living have known about this ongoing issue for many months now as the last tenants had the same problems, and our neighbours have told us that this has been something that they have got onto Derwent about in the past.
"It’s obvious they never addressed the situation in the first place and it’s disgusting."
To sign up for the Nottinghamshire Live newsletter click here
