A Leeds resident has shared his fury after finding "dog-sized" rats "squealing" outside his apartment.
David Baker, who lives in a three-storey apartment block in Thealby Close said that since the first Covid-19 pandemic, residents in the flat block have had a rat "infestation". In a number of video clips shared with Leeds Live, David can be seen going into the bin room where there is loud squeaking.
The horrifying moment comes when he peers over the edge of the bins to find over 20 rats feasting on food in bin bags, and jumping. The 29-year-old says he can hear the rats from three floors up in the apartment block.
The Leeds dad added that the rats are also causing damage to residents' parked cars. Drivers are having to get their cars "repaired on a weekly basis" as the rats "chew through the wires" in the cars.
After allegedly having no help from the council, the dad-of-two took matters into his own hands. Recruiting a group of his neighbours, they took the rats to the council office in Civic Hall.
David said: "A group of us took the bin to the housing office, I tipped the bin into the car park and let them crawl all over the car park. The council told me that they agreed with me actually, they said it was a bit drastic but they agreed.
"But then, as soon as one of the rats went near one of their cars a woman said ‘oh no the rat is going near my car'. I said 'well I’m sorry love but we have to live where the rats are'.
"We have gone through car after car as the rats chew the wires in our cars. We are getting car repairs almost every week."
He added: "I have two children who stay with me over the weekend and we can’t have rats where the kids are. One of my neighbours has had to move into a hotel because it's so bad. Some of them are the size of a small dog."
A spokesperson for Leeds City Council said: "Our pest control team have been working to treat this issue at Cromwell Heights and as part of this investigation we have identified a number of access points which we are working to have sealed and further baited. This should provide a long term solution to the issue in this area.
"Council services, including pest control, waste management, cleaner neighbourhood teams and Housing Leeds continue to work together to make sure problems are dealt with as quickly and effectively as possible. Further information about preventing infestations can be found on the council’s website: Pest control (leeds.gov.uk)."
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