Rats have eaten my walls and are now chewing my clothes, claims council tenant

A pair of Gareth Cottrell's shorts which have bee chewed through by rats
-Credit: (Image: Jonathon Hill/Media Wales)


A council tenant claims rats have eaten their way into his flat and have now started eating through his clothes. Gareth Cottrell, 51, says the block of flats has had rats for more than a decade.

He said part of the problem is that some of his neighbours in Tremorfa, Cardiff, do not seem to care about the rodent issue and that the council has not taken action to repair walls which the rodents have ruined. He explained how he’s seen so many Cardiff pest control experts that he’s on first name terms with all of them, but they tell him the problem will continue unless remedial work is carried out on the block.

Gareth, of Skaithmuir Road, added: “I’ve still got rats in the property and now they’ve eaten all my clothes and urinated on them. To be honest I’ve had problems with rats here since I moved in," reports WalesOnline.

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He said: "I just can’t keep on top of it. You’ll sort one problem and then they’re in another way. The block is crawling with them. Sign up now for the latest news on the North Wales Live Whatsapp community

“There are more than 40 flats here and they’re all connected. So what’s happening is rats are getting in somewhere and we’re all connected so they’re running through the cavity walls. It’s a nightmare. The problem is there are some residents that have them and they’re not reporting it.

Gareth Cottrell says the rodents are making his life a nightmare
Gareth Cottrell says the rodents are making his life a nightmare -Credit:Jonathon Hill/Media Wales

“Pest control came back again and are trying to deal with the issue. The rats seem to eat through the concrete walls within a few days and it’s caused yet more upset. The pest control man said I was one of a number of flats he’d been to in the block recently. He said it’s out of control and he can’t keep up with it all.

“The council says they can’t send anyone until November to deal with the damage. I’m disabled and I feel the council should offer more help. Despite this they say they can’t visit until November 4.” When contacted a council spokesperson said they will attend the address on Wednesday.

When we visited the flats on Friday the estate was covered in litter and fly-tipped furniture. Gareth’s property is immaculate on the surface, but behind closed cupboards is rat faeces and there are visible bite marks on his clothes.

“They eat through anything,” he explained. “They’ve even eaten through my tin foil. You wouldn’t think a rat would want to eat tin foil would you?”

Gareth said he doesn’t know how many rats are in the flat but he often hears them in his walls throughout the day and night and he has seen countless. “The problem is when you live in a flat like this you can hear little things very often, and when you have a problem with rodents you become paranoid every time you hear a sudden noise. It’s making me ill.”

Gareth did work as a chef for years before becoming a driver for Tesco. He had a mortgage and a stable life, but he became disabled 10 years ago with a condition called Pars syndrome which is caused by a stress fracture in the thin bone in the lower spine.

It means he could no longer work and had to move out of his property and into council-owned property. In May a council spokesperson said: “An inspection of the kitchen by the Council’s repairs team took place yesterday and work to replace two base units will take place next week.

"Any holes in the walls that were allowing pests to access will also be repaired. Pest control teams have carried out treatment for rats at the property which is ongoing.”

In a new statement this week they said: “We’re sorry to hear about ongoing issues Mr Cottrell is experiencing. Work was carried out in May to fill any external holes that were allowing pests to enter and repairs were completed to the damaged kitchen units.

"Operatives attended over the summer to fill further external holes. In response to Mr Cottrell’s latest report of rats entering the property, an inspection will be carried out on Wednesday to establish what work is necessary to resolve the problem.”