Coventry residents 'forced out' by mouse infestation

Landlord Midland Heart says it has set out bait boxes

Cottage dwellers in Coventry say they have had to leave their homes because of a mouse infestation.

Some people who live on Cash's Lane say their floors are covered in droppings and one mother said the pests urinated in her toddler's cot.

Billie Louise Race says she cannot afford to have pest control visit and thinks her landlord should do more.

Midland Heart, which runs the social housing complex, says it will inspect the flats soon.

Billie Louise Race said her home was covered in mouse droppings

Five families are understood to be affected.

Ms Race said the mice have been running up her curtains, "scuttling" in her bed and urinating in her 17-month-old daughter's cot.

Bed sheets in Ms Race's home are stained with mouse urine and droppings

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"I'm not going to put my daughter through any more of this," Ms Race said, adding that she has complained to Midland Heart on "multiple occasions" only to be told to speak to the council.

But she says the council told her she would have to pay £42 for an officer to come out, which she cannot afford.

Residents have been catching the mice in traps

Gary Hardy, Midland Heart director of housing, said it had dealt with three reports of mice over the past two months and that officers went to the flats on Friday to "set out bait boxes as a precaution".

Officers will inspect each home soon "and will take all necessary actions if any [mice] are discovered", he added.

Coventry City Council said its pest control service comes at a cost, adding that it is "up to the tenants to speak to Midland Heart" to "find a way forward".