A bedbound pensioner had her toe chewed off by a rat while she waited for the council to send a pest exterminator to her home.
The 88-year-old’s daughter, Andrea Scott, first raised the infestation with the Labour-run local authority after seeing one of the rodents run from an armchair into the kitchen of her mother’s home.
Ms Scott was shocked when they told her that her elderly mother would have to pay £297 for the council to send round a pest exterminator – a cost out of reach for the diabetic pensioner, who has not been named.
Even once she had paid for the treatment herself Ms Scott, who lives in a council-supplied house in Southampton, Hampshire, was given a date weeks away for the exterminator’s visit.
In the meantime she laid her own rat traps and poison in her mother’s home to try and catch the rodents but none were caught.
The situation drastically worsened on May 20 when Ms Scott got a call from her mother’s carers who had discovered that a rat had chewed through the 88 year old’s sock and the top of her toe, including the toenail.
Ms Scott, 56, said the carers ‘screamed’ when they saw the puddle of blood on her mother’s bed and that the whole family are still in shock, more than a week later.
‘I was horrified and a week on our family are still in shock,’ she said.
A bedbound pensioner had her toe chewed off by a rat while she waited for the council to send a pest exterminator to her home
The 88-year-old’s daughter, Andrea Scott, first raised the infestation with the Labour-run local authority after seeing one of the rodents run from an armchair into the kitchen of her mother’s home
‘Mum is diabetic meaning she has no feeling in her legs – the only positive is that she was not in any pain.
‘She is currently in hospital – she just keeps saying “I can’t believe what has happened”.
‘The council chose not to support a vulnerable old lady and look at what has happened.’
Ms Scott continued: ‘Why should any council tenant be forced to pay to get rid of the rats?
‘Her carers found a puddle of blood and screamed when they saw what had happened.
‘It’s been so traumatic for mum and the whole family – I won’t ever let her back in that house.
‘From the research we have done it’s the bedbound who are most vulnerable.’
Neighbours of the 88-year-old told Ms Scott that they had also been having problems with rats.
Neighbours of the 88-year-old told Ms Scott that they had also been having problems with rats
A Southampton City Council Spokesperson said: ‘We take all reports of pest sightings seriously and encourage residents to report them to us using our website so that our team can assess the situation and work with the resident to deal with the issue.
‘In response to a report made on Tuesday 27 May which raised the issues of a rat infestation and potentially unsafe electrics, the council are attempting to arrange an urgent visit from both the pest and electrical teams to investigate this issue further.
‘Our thoughts are with the individual and we will continue to work with the family to ensure her mother’s home is safe and free from pests.’
