Blind tenant calls for better disability training

Toni Kalvans was disappointed by Aspire Housing's response to an ant infestation in her flat

A blind woman is calling for housing association staff to receive better disability training, after being disappointed by the response to an ant infestation in her flat.

Toni Kalvans, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, said she only became aware of it when a cleaner reported hundreds of insects crawling across her worktop.

After being initially told by Aspire Housing it was her responsibility, the 40-year-old said staff later said it would take a week to install traps.

Aspire Housing said it had provided "additional support" to Ms Kalvans and would visit her to discuss her options for further help.

Ms Kalvans, who has been blind since birth, said she had been shocked to learn of the infestation from the cleaner, who was removing mould.

“She said, ‘mate, there’s like a hundred ants on your draining board’,” Ms Kalvans told BBC Radio Stoke.

A cleaner alerted Ms Kalvans to the ants covering her draining board

Her disappointment only grew when was told by the housing associationit would take approximately a week to order and install the traps she needed.

"I thought I can't live like this for a week. I don't know if they're on my food. I don't know if they're in my coffee," she said.

She said she was also frustrated by the customer support team asking her exactly where she needed traps to be put down, despite her not being able to see.

• Listen on BBC Sounds: Toni Kalvans talks about support for visually impaired people

Ms Kalvans called a private company instead last weekend and paid them £50 to remove the ants. The company found two nests just outside her property.

She is now calling for additional training for Aspire staff, to help them understand the needs of visually impaired people.

Paul Malkin, Aspire Housing’s head of customer services, said pest issues were usually the tenant's responsibility but "we do take individual circumstances into consideration, and we have provided additional support for Ms Kalvans by sourcing and installing ant traps in her home."

Mr Malkin added that staff undertook Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) training and had an internal EDI forum.