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A terrified grandmother is threatening to stop paying rent after claiming birds on her roof have forced her to surrender her bedroom.
Katrina Brown says she has been living with an avian infestation for the last 13 years and has pleaded with ‘unhelpful’ housing bosses to end her ‘nightmare’.
The 52-year-old, who has a fear of all ornithic creatures, believes the ‘dander’ from the birds has exacerbated her asthma.
She also fears that her two-months-old grandchildren, who live in the house, could be at risk of picking up a disease.
Katrina says she is ‘disgusted’ with housing association River Clyde Homes who have yet to take any action.
And she has threatened to withhold rent on the house in Port Glasgow, until the problem is dealt with.
Katrina Brown (pictured) claims she has been living with an avian infestation at her home for 13 years
Katrina (pictured) has been forced to surrender her bedroom to birds that have invaded the roof space
She said: ‘I don’t feel as if River Clyde Homes have been very helpful to me as a tenant in any way, I’m disgusted with them.
‘I’ve seen other places have scaffolding put up and have their birds dealt with, why not mine?
‘At the end of the day it’s affecting my health and it’s making my asthma worse.
‘If they don’t get it dealt with, I’ll not be paying my rent anymore.’
Katrina claims there has been activity from crows on the roof form the day she moved into the property.
She says she has contacted River Clyde Homes a number of times and last summer they came out to investigate, admitting it was a ‘bigger problem than they thought’.
‘I just want it sorted, I don’t want the wee ones to end up with health issues or health problems’ Katrina explained.
‘They said by law they couldn’t move them if they’re nesting, which is understandable, but it’s causing me a lot of suffering.
‘I just need them gone now.’
Katrina fears that her two-months-old grandchildren – who live in the house – could be at risk of picking up a disease from the winged invaders
Katrina says the constant noise of the birds moving about in her roof has stopped her from getting a proper night’s sleep for years, and that this has had a serious knock-on effect on her mood.
She said: ‘I suffer from anxiety and depression, which this only makes things worse, and I do have asthma which I was diagnosed with after I moved in here.
‘I think having the birds up there makes that worse, I don’t sleep in my bedroom upstairs because of the birds.
‘I have to lie with my arms up above my head and with three pillows behind me so I can breathe properly.
‘At one point I was wearing face masks when I was going up the stairs because I was scared of the wee particles they give off and the diseases they can bring.
‘You can hear them all the time tweeting, pecking. It’s a headache.
The grandmother says she is ‘disgusted’ with housing association River Clyde Homes who have yet to take any action
‘People might think it’s just some birds in the roof, but this has been constant for more than a decade.
‘It’s not nice getting woken up late at night or early in the morning by it. It drives me nuts.
‘The birds are really upsetting me now and I have my granddaughter in here who is only 15 weeks old.
‘I just don’t understand why it’s not been dealt with.’
A spokesperson for RCH – Inverclyde’s largest housing provider – said: ‘We have inspected the property and found no evidence of nesting birds.
‘A repair has been raised for damaged slating on the property, which requires high-level scaffolding to be erected.
‘We understand Ms Brown’s frustration with the situation, but as it is illegal to disturb any bird nest that is in use or under construction, the timescale of this repair may be affected should any evidence of nesting be discovered.’