A DISTRAUGHT mum is fearing for the safety of her five-year-old daughter due to a mice infestation in her council property.
Shannon Keevil, aged 24, claims she has spent the last 12 months asking Redditch Borough Council to be rehomed.
The situation reached new levels of despair recently when her daughter Lily-Mae found two mice in her bed, eating away at her quilt.
After reaching boiling point, the Laurel Close residents moved in with Shannon’s mum while pest control company Pest Express attempted to exterminate the rodents.
But Shannon claims she was told by the council that she would lose her property if she didn’t return, despite still paying rent.
“I kept telling them that the property was unfit to live in,” she said.
“I would send photographs to prove what I was saying was true but they would tell me it was fine – even though it was affecting my mental health.
“In January Pest Express signed the house off as having ‘minimal activity’.
“So we moved back in hoping for change but that’s when Lily-Mae found mice in her bed.
“I contacted the council again only to be told that I’l be fine and that the mice are more scared of us than we are of them.”
Not taking no for an answer, Shannon urged Pest Express to come back out to deal with the reoccurring issue.
This time, she says, they agreed that the conditions were too bad to live in after finding multiple mice droppings around the property.
“The council did come out but they just told me to clean up the droppings with a hoover which I think is absolutely disgusting,” added Shannon.
“Their duty of care is not being met and I’m even having to replace furniture which has wee and poison all over it.
“I’m a single parent working part-time and this is all too much.”
A council spokesperson told the Standard that the removal of any pests at the property is the responsibility of the tenant, as laid out in the tenancy agreement.
And that officers at the council have had frequent contact with Shannon to help fix the issues at the property.
“On Pest Express advice we arranged with Ms Keevil to attend the property again in early March to seal up any potential areas where the mice might be getting in.
“We have also been out to assess the surrounding garages and properties to help reduce the likelihood of any infestations occurring again, as well as talking to residents to advise best practice to avoid attracting mice or rats.”
