Mum's 'terror' as writhing rodents drive family out

Beverly Wood said she fears her family will have "no option" but to return

A mother who was driven out of her rodent-infested home has told how the sound of rats writhing and scratching behind the walls was “terrifying” for her two children.

Beverley Wood said landlords Onward Homes have done “nothing” to sort a pest problem in her Oldham home.

The 45-year-old said she had spent almost all her monthly income on temporary accommodation to help her two children get out of the house.

A spokesman for the housing provider said it had installed “preventative measures” to tackle the vermin.

Ms Wood said the smell of rotting vermin had made her children sick

The part-time teaching assistant, who has lived at the home for five years, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service she had spent more than £1,400 on an Airbnb in the last month to escape the “absolute terror”.

She said the issue began almost a year ago when the smell of a dead rat under the floorboards developed and made one of her children “vomit”.

“Then we started hearing scratching behind the walls, which is terrifying for children who’ve got additional needs, scratching behind the mantlepiece, scratching in the bedrooms.”

Neighbours fears an infestation underneath their properties

Ms Wood said she started to find mice and rats, dead and alive, all around the house, and in response spent hours trying to plug gaps in her home with filler to stop the rodents from entering.

The Onwards Homes spokesman said the association “recognised that his has been distressing for Ms Wood”, and was “working to put things right” after someone had visited in March to investigate the problem.

“We still don’t have a home,” Ms Wood said, adding she felt like she had “no option” but to return to the property.

Ms Wood said the problems began almost a year when droppings appeared

Her neighbour Shauna Greenhalgh said she was also struggling to cope with the mice and rats, which they suspect are affecting the entire area.

“I’ve had it where I’ve been cleaning up the girls’ room and they’ve jumped out of clothes boxes or toy boxes, I found a dead one in one of my girls’ beds," she said.

“Downstairs in the living room you can literally feel the floors vibrating with things underneath your feet.”

Onward Homes said it had arranged to visit to Ms Greenhalgh’s home next week to investigate and assess what works need to be carried out.

“We will contact both Ms Wood and Ms Greenhalgh to understand if they need any extra support from us during this time,” the spokesman said.

Ms Wood added: "It’s been traumatic for the kids. It’s not what we deserve. I just want to have a safe home.”