A market stallholder has been left ‘petrified’ to leave his home due to a plague of rats on his doorstep.
Stephen Boyd, 31, says the block of flats have been overrun with rats outside since May - despite reporting it to authorities. Shocking footage shows six rats rummaging around a bin next to the flats in Eccles.
Stephen, who lives in a temporary accommodation in Ennismore Avenue, says rats are his ‘worst nightmare’ and he often has to call his neighbours to get rid of the vermin when he returns home from work. Speaking to the MEN, Stephen said: “I understand that that everywhere is has a rat problem but when when you’re overrun like I am I feel like a prisoner in my home.
"My housing support worker has been contacting the housing managers and environmental health to report this problem and they don’t seem to be doing anything about it. A neighbourhood officer came last week and they told me that the bins were going to be changed. The rubbish is beyond a joke. There’s like 40 flats here and we have six bins between us."
Stephen says the back yard of the flats has also become a hotspot for flytippers making the rat infestation worse. He says he has contacted the local council and housing managers to no avail and has had to spend £400 out of his own pocket on rat poison.
Speaking about the rubbish he found outside, Stephen said: “All that stuff was there when I moved in and they told me it was going to get moved. It’s still there now.
“I’ve got mental health issues and I’ve told them numerous times it’s really affecting my mental health. I’ve got two dogs I can’t get out because I’m really petrified."
Councillor Barbara Bentham, lead member for environment, neighbourhoods and community safety, said: “We have attended the site each time rats have been reported and baited the area.
"We revisited yesterday (October 2) and again baited the area. We are working with ForHousing to investigate why rats continue to be attracted to this site and what actions can be taken to deal with the problem.”
Read the latest headlines here.
READ NEXT:
