Dad’s fury as 17-month-old daughter is left unable to play in her own bedroom after rats invade housing block – with droppings even found in her BED

A DISGUSTED dad claims he can’t let his 17-month-old daughter play in her bedroom because his home is infested with rats - which have left droppings in their BEDS.

Darren Atwood says the conditions in his fourth floor flat in South Acton, West London, are “dangerous and disgusting” and is concerned his family could fall seriously ill.

The 30-year-old is among dozens of residents at Chaplin House who have slammed Catalyst Housing, which part-owns the properties, for “ignoring” the issue – which he says has spanned five years.

Each household pays the company £150 a month – or the equivalent of about £6,450 in total – in maintenance fees for the building and surrounding gardens.

But Mr Atwood has accused the housing association of “stealing their money” over allegations the company has failed to respond when he asked for a full breakdown of where the cash is being spent.

The dad of one, who moved into the brand new flat with wife Emilia when it was built six years ago, said they had spotted signs on a resident’s noticeboard asking if people had a vermin problem.

He told Sun Online: “We were moving in on the fourth floor so we didn’t expect we’d get any issues with rats.

“And for the first 12 months everything was fine but after that things just got worse and worse.

“We’ve had rats inside our property, which has been distressing and disgusting – they’ve even left droppings in our bed.

“I’ve got a 17-month-old daughter and she’s at that age where she’s putting everything in her mouth and we’re worried about her being on the floor.

“We won’t let her play in her bedroom anymore because we’re concerned she might get Weil’s disease, which is obviously really dangerous to children.”

Mr Atwood said in a recent incident he was stunned to see an unfazed little Izabella try to pick up a dead rat lying in the road.

He added: “That was the final nail in the coffin for me.”

Mr Atwood said at one point their electronic intercom system was down and took about three months to fix.

“We later found out the reason it was broken was because rats had chewed through the cables.

“The icing on the cake was they made us pay to have it fixed.”

He added that he’s spent his own time and money filling in holes in his property due to the “shoddy and appalling standards of work” carried out by the builders.

The stay at home dad says he’s also had issues with damp, which has left thick, black mould growing under the carpets and on the walls in the two-bed property, which he owns 55% of.

He’s kept a record of the incidents by taking pictures of rats in his flat, droppings in his bed as well as overflowing bins in the communal area and what he describes as a clear lack of garden maintenance.

Mr Atwood said: “It’s embarrassing. We want our home to be clean but it’s just disgusting.

“The bins are overflowing, there’s rats running round, mould on the walls. It’s an absolute disgrace.”

Mr Atwood says he has been left at his wit’s end and was forced to set up his own Facebook group so that other “frustrated” residents can share their concerns.

His post has been shared dozens of times and has more than 200 comments – some from residents in other Catalyst properties who claim they’ve also had similar issues and shared pictures of their filthy conditions.

Mr Atwood says he has reported the issues to Catalyst on numerous occasions but says their customer service is “appalling”.

He said: “We are constantly ignore - I’ve tried ringing them and you end up on the phone for about an hour going round in circles.”

The dad of one says Catalyst has sent out pest controllers to the building but the family can still hear rats in the ceilings and walls.

He added: “We’re worried they’ll chew through the work we have done to keep them out.”
Catalyst said it has been in regular contact with Mr Atwood and the Chaplin House residents regarding the issues and say an action plan is underway to resolve the infestation as urgently as possible.

A spokesman said an environmental services team has carried out deep cleaning to the refuse areas and a baiting programme has been put in place to reduce the rat population, which they is already having an impact.

The company says surveys are being carried out within the flats to help understand the extent of the matter and a full pest control will be carried out next week - at no charge to residents.

A Catalyst spokesperson said: “We have been working closely with Mr Atwood and the residents of Chaplin House to resolve this issue as quickly as possible and have a comprehensive plan in place.

“We are sorry for the discomfort that our residents have faced. Our top priority is for our customers to feel comfortable and safe in their homes and we will continue to take the necessary action to make sure this is the case.”

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