A single mum has slammed council housing bosses after being forced to live with her two-year-old son in a rat infested property.
Jordanne Lynch, 23, is living in fear with her little boy Ethan as her home has been overrun with the terrifying rodents since May last year.
She says rats have been munching through her food and she has even discovered droppings in her son's bed as they scurry about his room at night.
Jordanne has desperately been trying to seek help from a council housing provider to exterminate the vermin at her home in Kingsthorpe, Northampton.
But Northampton Partnership Homes (NPH) has refused to help - saying dealing with pests was not their problem and is the resident's responsibility.
Jordanne is now worried for her and her son's health as her terraced property continues to be plagued by rats.
The creatures have been getting in through two holes in a wall and one in the loft and have been raiding her cupboards as well as chewing through her son's toys.
Support worker Jordanne said: "It's horrible. They are taking all the food. I'd say they have got through about a cupboard's worth of food.
"The rats are in my two-year-old son's room while he's asleep, I've also found rat poo in his bed. It's the stuff of nightmares.
"They've chewed through the wires in my sons toy car and left droppings in there, too. They were getting food and storing it underneath the cupboard, I found piles of it.
"It's disgusting and I fear for our health. They seem to be getting everywhere.
"There are multiple holes in the walls where they can get in from and we are right next to communal bins, which are disgusting and always left in a state.
"I've brought this up with NPH but it is refusing to help. NPH said the rats were inside and that it would only deal with it if they were on the outside of the property.
"The biggest problem is how the rats get into the house - through the holes in the property so surely that is NPH's responsibility."
Jordanne moved into the house in February last year before she began encountering the rats in May.
She has since had a friend concrete over the two kitchen holes but they are still getting in to the property.
The cash-strapped mum says she's already had to fork out large sums for renovations when she moved in as the property didn't even have carpets.
Jordanne added: "NPH just won't do anything. We were told to get an exterminator out but we can't afford one.
"I'm a young single mum who can't afford to fix this problem. I just want the issue sorted.
"Even if I got an exterminator, it doesn't plug the holes and stop them coming back.
"I know that a lot of people are facing the same issue, my neighbours are. They've had to spend loads to sort it.
"A friend of mine filled the whole with concrete but they're still getting in the attic NPH just won't do anything."
Nicky McKenzie, assistant director for housing at NPH, which works on behalf of West Northamptonshire Council, said: "We understand the distress this is causing her.
"However, we have explained that resolving issues with pests is the resident's responsibility, as outlined in our tenancy agreements and on our website.
"We haven't been made aware of any holes or repairs needed to the structure or exterior of the property, but we will visit Ms Lynch to investigate any concerns she has about the structure of her home.
"A housing officer has an appointment to visit Ms Lynch to talk through her concerns, and a maintenance officer will visit at the same time to investigate any problems and arrange any repairs that may be needed."
