A mother-of-two from Willesden claims she has had to flee her home because her social landlords are failing to tackle a year-long rodent infestation in her flat.
Shawan-Kay Campbell, 22, says she has been forced to move in with her sister because Genesis Housing (GH) is failing to rid her home in Brenthurst Road, of the rats plaguing her life.
Ms Campbell, her disabled five-year-old son Shemaree and year-old baby boy Kumaree, are currently crammed in her sister’s two-bedroom home that she shares with her own three children. She said: “At the moment the rats are comfortable in my home as they don’t run away when they see me.”
GH have been sending a pest control officer to Ms Campbell’s flat every fortnight to put down poison and block any suspected entry holes but she claims the rats are still entering her home.
According to Ms Campbell, the problem first started last February, when initially mice were entering her home before rats took over a few months ago.
She said: “When one went into my son’s cot I asked Genesis to speed up in clearing the problem and help me out but they do nothing except lay poison and fill holes and the rats find other holes. I cry every day.”
Before she fled to her sibling’s home for sanctuary, Ms Campbell said she was so frightened to go into her kitchen and she was forced to warm her baby’s milk bottle at a neighbour’s house.
Ms Campbell, who has been in temporary accommodation for four years, added: “I want to go home and know it’s a safe place for me and my children.”
A GH spokesman said: “We understand that this issue has caused distress and upheaval to our resident and her family, and we are doing everything that we can to resolve matters as quickly as possible.
“Rats can be a difficult problem to shift, but a specialist pest control agency has been carrying out regular treatments, and the resident’s landlord has attended the property to block up access holes.”
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