A THURROCK family whose home has been infested with rats is at its wit's end after more than two weeks of alleged complacency and inaction by Thurrock Council.

Lisa Clark lives in a council property on Chieftain Drive in Purfleet with her daughter and four-year-old granddaughter. She has been a tenant for 16 years, most of which have been trouble-free and there has never been a problem with rats.

However, since the start of October life for the family has turned into a nightmare – with Lisa struggling with health conditions and the family having to move out of the property because of the intolerable infestation.

Today (Friday, 23 October) the council offered to put the family up in a hotel while the issue is resolved, but Ms Clark says it is not a practical move as they have limited transport options. Instead the family plan to continue 'sofa-surfing' with family and friends.

Footage taken by motion cameras shows rats crawling over Ms Clark's granddaughter's bed, while the carcasses of rats that have been successfully poisoned or killed in a trap are pictured in the property.

The issue was first discovered on Tuesday, 6 October when a motion camera linked to Ms Clark's mobile phone, flagged up a rat on the child's bed. Further viewing showed a second rodent running around.

Ms Clark immediately alerted the council to the problem, asking for help.

On returning home a search of the property revealed traces of rat faeces throughout the property and decided it would not be wise to stay in the property. Ms Clark's health is vulnerable as she is diagnosed with fibromyalgia, epilepsy and mental health issues and her granddaughter is also vulnerable, being born with Cytomegalovirus (CMV)

Returning the next day after staying at her partner's home, a number of traps were set and rat poison left where the rats had been running. In total Ms Clark spent £80 on the traps and rat bait.

On the same day the council responded to her initial call, and said a purchase order had been applied for authorisation for a visit from a pest control team.

Ms Clark says: "She asked if we had somewhere to stay, I said yes at my partner's home. She also advised the housing department had applied for a purchase order for pest control to come round. I explained I had purchased bait and traps out of my own money and she said I'd done the best thing before pest control visited."

In the days that intervened Ms Clark stayed away from her home, returning only to check the traps and cameras, and dispose of the bodies of dead rats.

The entry and exit point for the rats was discovered to be via a hole in the property's downstairs toilet.

Ms Clark says she heard nothing further from the council until Monday, 12 October when she was told a pest control visit had been arranged for later that day.

Lisa takes up the story: "An officer attended my home. I explained I had cameras inside my home and that we were 99.9% sure their access point was a gap next to a waste pipe in the toilet.

"At that point we had caught four rats and they had eaten the bait we had put down. He said I'd done the right thing. This was a week after the first sighting of them. The technician repositioned the traps and bait I bought and laid two trays of his bait which was double the strength I had.

"He explained we were to carry on what we were doing. He asked if I was OK removing rats caught traps and resetting traps as he wouldn't be returning for two weeks..the problem, she has tried her upmost to help but nothing has really happened.

"Through all this my health has deteriorated and I have had a number of epileptic seizures due to the stress of the rat infestation. They have been controlled by medication for years and only start due too stress, which I'm under as I'm not getting the help I should from my local council.

"My partner has had to take two days off work due to my epileptic seizures to look after me and that is unpaid.

Ms Clark says she feels the council is not treating the issue seriously – nor has it alerted other tenants in the block. She is still returning to dispose of rats' bodies.

She adds: "Currently I've spent approximately £80 on bait , traps and extra stick mats, which the council says it will only reimburse if I can provide receipts, but at the time of purchase I was so anxious, I just wanted to get home and start treating the situation.

"I'm not getting anywhere fast with the council.

"My granddaughter, daughter and I just desperately want to get back into our home as our current situation isn't healthy for any of us."

Thurrock Council has been advised of Ms Clark's concerns and that she has shared them with Nub News but has not yet responded.