SWNS
<p>A dad has slammed council bosses for failing to act after being forced to live next door to a rat-infested abandoned house - which has been left to rot for over 20 YEARS.<br></p><p>David Nicholls, 59, says he feels like he is living next to a "rat hotel" after hearing the rodents under his floorboards and seeing them scurry across his garden. </p><p>The dad-of-two moved into his terraced home on Murray Avenue, in Abington, Northampton with his wife and two kids in 1998.</p><p>His next door neighbour had moved out the year before and since then he says the property has been neglected to the point it has become a serious health hazard. </p><p>The unsightly boarded-up house has smashed windows, messy overgrown gardens and the interior piled high with boxes and bags. </p><p>He is now calling on West Northamptonshire Council to take enforcement action allowing them to take over the property and put it back into use as housing. </p><p>He said: "I moved into the house in 1998, the guy next door left in 1997 and up until a few years ago you would only see him once every five years or so. </p><p>"He'd spend a night there, light a bonfire and then he was off again, the house has just been abandoned and left to rot.</p><p>"The council knows the property is empty. They keep saying it is working with the owner but nothing's changing. <br></p><p>A West Northamptonshire Council spokesperson said: "The council continues to investigate, and progress action in line with the latest findings from the local government ombudsman.</p><p>"The council is not the owner of the property, and is not responsible for the property.</p><p>"WNC confirms that where possible it will take enforcement action to secure improvements to the property and the neighbourhood when the law allows.”<br></p>
Yahoo News