Kempsey 'house of dead rats': couple STILL in Travelodge

Andy Roberts and Rosie Glazzard have now been stuck in a Travelodge in Worcester for three weeks after the rats took over their Kempsey home, managed by Platform Housing Group.

We have previously reported how the rats infesting their home bit them, soiled their bathroom and even swam in their toilet.

VILE: Dead rats blocking the plughole in the bath at Bannut Hill in Kempsey after poison was put down (Image: Supplied by Janet Jarvis)

The couple left their home of 30 years in Bannut Hill three weeks ago on Friday to be put up in the hotel in Cathedral Square in the city centre.

Jan Jarvis, a friend of the couple, has been back to the house since the poison was out down as she has a key and is speaking on behalf of the couple.

BITE: Andy Roberts has been bitten and now the house in Bannut Hill in Kempsey which is now full of dead rats (Image: James Connell/Newsquest)

"Nothing else has happened. I found one rat dead in the hallway. The bath is half full of water because a rat has blocked the plug hole. When I went in I felt sick. It is different to anything else I have smelled. It's a bad smell," she said.

Mrs Jarvis spoke to pest controllers on Thursday about the mess inside and was told nobody had a key to the house (although Mrs Jarvis says she has explained to Platform Housing she has a key).
 

DEAD: A dead rat in Bannut Hill in Kempsey (Image: Supplied by Jan Jarvis)

She said she had tried to get hold of Platform at the office but it was not open to the public.

However, she said she had been able to communicate her concerns since.

She added: "My concern is Rosie and Andy have somewhere to stay. They haven't been told when they can leave Travelodge . They don't know what's happening. They're absolutely in limbo.  They don't know whether they're going to be able to live there.  They're very worried. "

We understand pest control has put down more poison in the maisonette in Bannut Hill in Kempsey, near Worcester after previous, unsuccessful attempts to exterminate the rats.

Both have been bitten by the rats - Mr Roberts, 56, on his big toe and 54-year-old Miss Glazzard three times, including on her toes and bottom since they reported the infestation in June.

Disturbing footage, filmed before they left, shows a rat swimming in the couple's toilet.

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Mr Roberts, Miss Glazzard's partner and carer, said he first noticed they had rodents in December.

So far the rats have chewed through wires to the freezer, gnawed holes in the floorboards and the sofas, left mountains of droppings underneath the bath and tried to open cans in the kitchen cupboards which are now inedible. 

Marion Duffy, Chief Operations Officer at Platform Housing Group said: “We are in the process of carrying out the works required following investigations into the cause of the problem. We continue to support our customers during the works.”