A mum has told of her family's harrowing plight as her house is blighted by the 'worst' cockroach infestation which sees her trap a thousand of the insects every week.
Danielle (not her real name) has lived in her rented home in south east London with her children and claims they can't eat at home and dread going to sleep at night.
The family living in the flat have been there for a decade and the issue shows no sign of improving.
She moved into the home owned by social housing provider Lewisham Homes at the age of 18.
The single mum told MyLondon it started off as one or two appearing each day, but quickly they began to multiply.
She said: “I was young then and I didn’t really understand what cockroaches were.
“Plus I was busy looking after my newborn baby and I had enough to be dealing with.”
But soon the problem became impossible to ignore.
Danielle said: “I contacted Lewisham Homes but they just told me there was nothing they could do and that more people in my block needed to report it for them to do something.”
After a survey of the block, three neighbours responded saying they were dealing with cockroach infestations. Lewisham Homes said this still wasn’t enough to do anything.
Now, 10 years on, Danielle has two children and they are in a living nightmare with the surfaces of the house are heaving with cockroaches.
Each week the traps collect over a thousand cockroaches and have invaded drawers and appliances such as the hob which means the mum cannot cook or prepare food.
They have got into the Wi-Fi box and destroyed the electrics.
But the worst part is the insects have made their way into the woodwork and into their beds.
She said: “My children share a bunk bed and they don’t want to go to sleep”
“I don’t blame them. I can’t sleep either. The stress we are under is stifling.”
Contacting Lewisham Homes has become a daily occurrence for Danielle.
She has received little response from them until yesterday, when social housing campaigner Kwajo Tweneboa’s visited her property.
Kwajo says it is the worst infestation he has ever seen.
He filmed the horrific conditions and shortly after posted it on Twitter. The videos, one of which shows cockroaches jumping out of the gas hob rings, has gone viral.
Danelle added: "Lewisham Homes have sent a pest exterminator and we have been told they’re putting us in a hotel for the weekend and then temporary accommodation after but it’s not enough
“Why has it taken so long? Why has it taken Twitter to make them listen to us? And temporary accommodation is all very well but we need permanent accommodation.
"There is no way we are going back there and I have no idea what I’m going to do about furniture or appliances because we can’t bring our current belongings.”
A Lewisham Homes spokesperson said: "Yesterday, a very serious cockroach infestation in a property we manage was highlighted on social media.
"We have arranged alternative accommodation for the family while the infestation is treated. Pest control are on site today (8 July) to treat the property and the wider block.
"The conditions in which the family were living are unacceptable and we would like to apologise for the distress caused.
"We are investigating how this situation arose to ensure that we avoid similar situations in the future.
"While pest control treatments had previously been carried out at the property, these were clearly inadequate in treating the problem and we are reviewing our processes in this regard.
"We are currently liaising with the family to explore their future housing options."
