A mum-of-three claims her son has had to have emergency surgery after he developed a flesh-eating disease from a rat and flea infestation, which has taken over their garden.
Angela Barnes said she has complained to Wigan Council for four years about the vermin that have invaded her home, which she claims was caused by her neighbours' overflowing rubbish.
She said that as a result of the filth, her son Martin could have died after he was bitten by the rodents' fleas while he emptied the bins outside, which caused him to develop sepsis.
Angela said the sting left his leg swollen, and saw him rushed to hospital as doctors warned it would need amputating and now his vision is at risk.
As well as rodents and disease-carrying insects, the mum - who lives with anxiety and breathing difficulties - was stuck living with mould, despite promises of housing reforms following the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak.
But with the rats outside her home, she is unable to open the windows and ventilate her flat out of fear the rodents will enter her home.
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Angela said: “Every night I can hear rats screaming outside my window as a cat chases them. It doesn’t kill rats, it just plays with them. I can't sleep.
“Rats are climbing on the roof of the shed, jumping out of hedges."
Angela said that on top of the rats, the mould in her home persists as she cannot open her windows.
She said: “A couple of days ago I went into the kitchen and a rat was on the brickwork outside the kitchen window just looking at me. I nearly had a heart attack.
“The rats are looking for how to get in now the weather has gone cold.
“Not being able to open the windows is making the mould in the house worse. We are constantly cleaning it off.
“The windows can’t be opened to ventilate the house in case the rats get in.”
Angela's diabetic son Martin was bitten by the fleas and it all took a turn for the worse when he developed a fever and began vomiting soon after.
Angela said: “Martin was bitten by a flea just going into the garden to empty the bin. The next day his leg started to get painful. The day after he spent the day in bed with a headache and vomiting with a fever.
“He saw the GP who said the swelling was massive and he had never seen anything like it.
“He was sent straight to A&E where he was admitted. By this time the swelling was so bad he was struggling to walk."
Angela said the doctor decided to conduct a body scan, which confirmed that he needed emergency surgery.
She said: "The A&E doctor noted a small puncture wound. He had tachycardia and alternated with fever & chills.
“He was sent for a CT scan that showed necrotising fasciitis, a flesh-eating disease, and the surgical team was urgently informed for emergency surgery.
“We were warned it was a life-threatening condition and they may have to amputate his leg."
Angela said she was informed her son had developed sepsis and needed more surgeries "to remove further necrotic tissue”.
But although the surgery was successful, Angela said her son’s health continued to deteriorate when they returned home from the hospital.
She said: “When he got home, he had to return to the hospital because his whole leg became swollen.
“He was given blood thinners for clots and he had an open wound for seven weeks that needed daily dressing with the district nurses.
“Then he had to return to hospital again for a doppler scan that showed infected lymph nodes in the injured leg and [needed] more antibiotics.”
Angela said her son could also lose his vision due to the sepsis.
She said: “He started getting migraines and blurry vision. He's in a deep depression.
“The sepsis has caused two bleeds behind both eyes, with swelling.
“He has an appointment with an eye specialist later this week and there are now concerns the sepsis may cause him to lose his vision.”
Angela’s other sons were also bitten by the fleas from the rat infestation and needed antibiotics and steroid lotion.
She said she has tried on multiple occasions throughout the years to have the situation resolved, but has been told it is down to her neighbour.
Angela also said that pest control has turned up and left before she could answer the door, and that sometimes they do not turn up at all.
Angela said: “I escalated the formal complaint stating they have a legal responsibility to ensure the property is in safe living conditions and their actions were neglectful.
“And again stated they have not addressed the rat infestation or the fleas or Martin's injury.
“Their response was pest control will continue to monitor the situation and tenancy services will continue to remind the neighbour of their duty of care to manage their waste.
“Regarding the injury to my son, they told me to take legal advice.
“We can’t get out of here and can’t get the situation resolved. My son has gone through hell and he’s back in the same living conditions.
“I’m terrified it will happen again and next time he won't survive. I’ve even tried the local MP Lisa Nandy and she's been of no help.”
A spokesperson for Wigan council: “Our sympathies are with the tenant during what has clearly been a difficult period.
“Council teams were first notified of reports of rats at this address in 2018 and since then, numerous visits to the property and neighbouring addresses have taken place.
“Visits took place in August 2018, July 2021, May 2022, and again in September and October 2022, where bait boxes were placed in the front and back garden of the property, however, we have found no evidence of a significant infestation..
“In September 2022, a survey to identify the presence of fleas in the garden was undertaken with no evidence found during this procedure.
“However, our officers have a future visit to the property scheduled for December and will continue to work alongside the resident to resolve their concerns.
“Ensuring our tenants have a safe and comfortable home to live in is of utmost importance to us and we have recently set up a taskforce to support residents with damp and mould concerns.
“We work alongside our tenants to provide good quality housing and address any problems that arise and we would encourage all of our tenants to contact us directly to report a repair so that it can be scheduled in and resolved quickly.”
Lisa Nandy's office was approached for comment.
Have you been left in a home from hell? Email melissa.sigodo@reachplc.com
