Woman who contacted Nottinghamshire Community Housing Association about a rat problem 12 weeks ago hopes it's nearly over

A woman whose house has been infested with rats is hoping her ordeal might soon be at an end ­— after 12 weeks.

Mrs Nora Pegg, 69, of Bellmond Close, Newark, had hoped the issue would have been solved before Christmas, after getting in touch with Nottinghamshire Community Housing Association in early December.

Instead, it has turned into a £400 nightmare.

“My bathroom floor has been ripped up because the rats ate through the toilet and chemicals were spilled everywhere,” she said.

“If we had left it, the bathroom would have been contaminated and gone rotten.”

Emergency drainage and plumbing service Dyno-Rod, construction company PJ Lilley’s, and flooring contractors Mac Floor concluded a new bathroom was needed, after discovering dead rats and faeces in the pipes behind the toilet.

The drainage hole at the bottom of the walk-in shower had also gone rotten, as maggots and small black flies festered.

Best friend and neighbour Mrs Linda Huckstep said: “Notts Housing has covered the costs [for a new bathroom] but it still seems everyone is passing the buck.

“The rat collectors have been to pick up the dead rats that were found in the pipes behind the toilet.

“If professional companies didn’t go in the bathroom without a specialist suit from head to toe, then how was it safe for her (Nora) to go in there?”

Nora was advised to dispose of all the towels and toiletries in her bathroom because chemical waste had damaged items.

After what she hopes is a final visit from Notts Housing’s vermin specialists, Nora believes the rat problem could be coming to an end because a different type of poison has been placed in the roof.

“There is no way they can be coming from the drainage pipe now, because a new one has been put in with the bathroom,” said Nora.

“Notts Housing have been into my neighbour’s roof and there was no sign of any rats at all, so hopefully, this new poison will kill them.”

Nora hopes to claim compensation from Nottingham Community Housing and use the situation to shed light on the problem, making other elderly people aware of this situation in the process.

“Some people really wouldn’t know what to do, because I didn’t,” she said.

“I have been so ill from this whole experience and it’s put me under so much stress.

“My advice for people is to get in touch with the council or a councillor, like we did with Keith Girling (a county councillor).

“He has been really good and as soon as we told him, he was making calls and trying to help us.

“And as well, telling the Advertiser has helped, because more people now know about the problem and some have seen it on Facebook and offered to help.

“I just never expected to be in this situation.”