Rats and flies plague new mum's home after 'nightmare neighbour dumps rubbish'

A young mum is living in a "house of horrors" where she has to battle swarms of flies, rats and dangerous black mould.

Laura D'Agostino moved into the Fife Council owned flat in Kirkcaldy in April, weeks before giving birth to her son Chester.

What should have been a new start for the 24-year-old and her partner quickly turned into a horrendous ordeal, the Daily Post reported.

Laura claims a neighbour is dumping rubbish outside her home which is attracting pests.

She also says she is afraid to leave her home due to anti-social behaviour.

That means she is stuck inside, where damp problems have left mould growing on the walls, carpets and kids’ toys.

Piles of rubbish have been left outside their home (Supplied)

The chef was forced to "camp" in the family’s living room while trying to clear the dangerous black mould.

She said: “When we got shown round the property, there was rubbish out the front but the woman that had shown us round said they were aware and it was going to be dealt with.

“We were promised the ideal starting out home for having kids but it’s just been a nightmare from day one, ever since we picked up the keys.

“When we went to decorate the flat in April, we noticed that the rubbish was still there but it had piled up and piled up.

“There’s been rats, seagulls and we’ve had to hang those sticky fly traps in every single room in our house because the flies are so bad from the rubbish.

“The close doors are both broken so cats and dogs are coming into the stairwell and peeing, there’s bluebottles everywhere and it stinks."

Laura and her partner are careful to keep the children away from the rubbish.

Mould is growing in part of the flat (Supplied)

“We have to walk up and down there with two children," she continued.

"When my partner’s four-year-old comes down to visit, he carries him up the stairs.

“He doesn’t let him walk on the ground in the close or touch the bannisters.

“It’s just disgusting. It’s a horrible place to live. We’ve applied two, three maybe four times to get moved but the council have said no.

“They’ve basically said that we should just go private rent or get a mortgage as if it’s that easy.

“It’s so frustrating because me and my partner are decent people. We both work full-time and we don’t ask for a lot. We just want a safe place to live.

"We've reported all these issues to Fife Council time and time again but nothing gets done.”

The rubbish has attracted flies (Supplied)

Another frustrated neighbour took matters into his own hand and pushed the steadily growing rubbish mound by his house out into the street.

Laura claims that the waste is beginning to build up once again, leaving her fearful for the health and wellbeing of her young family.

She also told how anti-social behaviour and drug use within the block of flats was escalating and how she is now too scared to leave the flat by herself.

The mum-of-one said: “We’ve had people coming into the block at night making threats, smashing windows, shouting and swearing.

“The guy upstairs said he had seen someone running out of the block with the machete in his hand.

Laura says rats are also a problem (Supplied)

“I’m just terrified of any noise in the close. I’m up looking out the peephole all the time.

“It’s got to the point that I won’t go out without my partner. I’m terrified to go out on my own in case I bump into anyone from downstairs, especially with Chester.

“The smell of cannabis is now so strong that we can’t put the kids' clothes on the radiators to dry because they stink of it.

“It’s not nice when your whole house stinks of drugs - it’s disgusting.”

Laura, who has recently been diagnosed with severe post natal depression, is also facing a daily battle to clean mould off the walls and carpet of the flat.

She explained: “It’s black mould - that could kill someone especially with me having asthma and a newborn baby in the house. It’s just not acceptable at all.

“We discovered how bad it was the other day. I had noticed it was growing in the kitchen near our sink area.

“I thought it was a wee bit so I cleaned it with bleach and it would be fine. But the very next day it was back again.

Mould grew on a basket of toys which had to be thrown away (Supplied)

“We had a leak in the kitchen when we moved in so it’s probably growing underneath the kickboard as well.

“The boys’ bedroom is freezing. The whole back wall feels wet to touch. The carpet underneath the bed was absolutely soaking and stinking so we’ve had to bleach that as well.

“We had a basket that was filled with toys but it was covered in mould but because they were electrical, I couldn’t clean them and they had to be put into the bin.

“The paint has come off the wall because of the damp. It’s also in our room.

“We got special paint to try and stop it coming back for the time being but we couldn’t sleep in our bedroom because of the mould treatment and the paint fumes.

“We had to have our mattress in the living room, camping out on the floor.

“The whole stress of being a new mum and having to deal with all these flat problems on top of it is just awful.”

Joan Lamie, the council's housing manager in Kirkcaldy, said the block of flats was inspected on October 26.

“We didn't find any rubbish at the entrance to the block or in the close," she said.

“We did, however, find some bin bags at the rear window of one of the properties and we'll be in touch with the tenant responsible for this.

"Ms D'Agostino emailed us on Saturday 24th October 2020 to report dampness in her bedroom. We'll follow this up with a repair inspection.

"We've not received any reports about anti-social behaviour in this block. We will contact Ms D'Agostino to discuss any concerns that she may have."