Rats eat via partitions of man’s council flat and now they’re munching on garments
A Cardiff man is at his wits’ end as rats have chewed their way into his council flat and are now gnawing through his wardrobe.
Gareth Cottrell, 51, who lives in the flats on Skaithmuir Road in Tremorfa, has been battling a rat infestation for years. He blames part of the problem on neighbours who ignore the rodent issue and a council that hasn’t fixed the damaged walls. Gareth, familiar with every Cardiff pest control expert by name, has been told that without proper repairs to the building, the rats will persist.
After six years in the flat, he’s been struggling with the vermin since day one. Despite the council renovating his kitchen last summer due to rat damage, the pests continue to destroy his home.
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“I’ve still got rats in the property and now they’ve eaten all my clothes and urinated on them,” Gareth said. “To be honest I’ve had problems with rats here since I moved in. I just can’t keep on top of it. You’ll sort one problem and then they’re in another way. The block is crawling with them.”
(Image: Jonathon Hill/Media Wales)
“There are more than 40 flats here and they’re all connected. So what’s happening is rats are getting in somewhere and we’re all connected so they’re running through the cavity walls. It’s a nightmare. The problem is there are some residents that have them and they’re not reporting it.”, reports Wales Online.
“Pest control came back again and are trying to deal with the issue. The rats seem to eat through the concrete walls within a few days and it’s caused yet more upset. The pest control man said I was one of a number of flats he’d been to in the block recently. He said it’s out of control and he can’t keep up with it all.
“The council says they can’t send anyone until November to deal with the damage. I’m disabled and I feel the council should offer more help. Despite this they say they can’t visit until November 4.”
(Image: Jonathon Hill/Media Wales)
When WalesOnline visited the flats on Friday the estate was covered in litter and fly-tipped furniture. Gareth’s property is immaculate on the surface, but behind closed cupboards is rat faeces and there are visible bite marks on his clothes.
“They eat through anything,” he explained. “They’ve even eaten through my tin foil. You wouldn’t think a rat would want to eat tin foil would you? “.
Gareth revealed the torment of not knowing how many rats have taken over his flat. He hears them day and night within the walls, seeing countless of them scurrying around.
(Image: Gareth Cottrell)
“The problem is when you live in a flat like this you can hear little things very often, and when you have a problem with rodents you become paranoid every time you hear a sudden noise. It’s making me ill.”
After years working as a chef and then shifting to driving for Tesco, Gareth’s life took a turn due to Pars syndrome, a condition causing stress fractures in the spine, leading him to council housing.
A council spokesperson said: “”We’re sorry to hear about ongoing issues Mr Cottrell is experiencing.
(Image: Jonathon Hill/Media Wales)
“Work was carried out in May to fill any external holes that were allowing pests to enter and repairs were completed to the damaged kitchen units.
Operatives attended over the summer to fill further external holes. In response to Mr Cottrell’s latest report of rats entering the property, an inspection will be carried out on Wednesday to establish what work is necessary to resolve the problem.”
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