Mum’s horror after rats take over her family home and eat her children’s Christmas presents

A MUM has told of her horror after rats took over her family's home - and started eating her children's Christmas presents.

Terrified Myomi Cotterell, 37, fears the rodents will get into bedrooms and attack her youngsters.

She also worries they will leave urine and poo all over the house and spread deadly diseases.

Myomi and her young children are living in fear after their loft in Innsworth, Gloucester, became infested with rats that burrowed inside Christmas selection boxes.

She said: "I first noticed them a fortnight before Christmas because I was hiding presents in the loft and I noticed all the selection boxes had been opened and the chocolate had been eaten."

She added: "The rats had used loft installation to make dens inside the boxes and sweet tins. We have two cats and we closed them in their overnight to try and catch them but they didn't find any.”

Myomi, who moved in with her partner three years ago, said her young children are now terrified that vermin are hiding in their bedrooms after six were found in the loft.

She added: "My six-year-old son Cairo is scared and thinks he can see whiskers coming out of the loft hatch and he tidies his room to make sure none are hiding."

But despite revolting pictures showing dead rats caught in traps, housing association Severn Vale says it has 'not found any evidence of rodent holes'.

Pest experts say as many as 200 million mutant rats up to 2ft long, immune to modern poisons, are swarming over Britain this winter.

The cold weather is driving many indoors to seek shelter in centrally-heated homes and offices.

Myomi said a man from Severn Vale who came to assess the property claimed he 'had filled in the holes'.

She plans to buy poison 'as a last resort' but is worried about her pets or children coming into contact with it.

A Severn Vale spokesman said "We have visited the property and carried out a thorough inspection, but we were unable to find any holes in the loft.

"We have offered advice on pest control but it is not Severn Vale Housing Society's responsibility. Tenants are responsible for this and it is up to them to contact and pay for a private pest control company to resolve the problem.

"Severn Vale Housing only has responsibility for pest control in the communal areas of apartment blocks."

Yvonne Hope, interim environmental health manager at Tewkesbury Borough Council, said "Home owners and occupiers both have a responsibility to keep their properties free of pests and vermin.

"We have legislative powers to ensure this happens in order to prevent a risk to public health.

"Ideally, any issue should be resolved through negotiation between the tenant and landlord.

"I would advise anyone in rented accommodation to check their tenancy agreement to find out what they are responsible for.

"Accountability can sometimes be unclear as it often depends on what caused the problem in the first place."

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368