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Gifty Acheapong, her son David and Councillor Shelly Coupland |
‘My stressful life in flat with mice that are as big as rats’
Mum fears for health of children in conditions condemned as ‘inhumane’
IT began with Gifty Acheampong’s kitchen ceiling splitting open in November last year following torrential rains – then came the hordes of mice.
The vermin have been spotted in the bedroom and kitchen at her third-floor housing association flat on the Peabody estate, in Greenman Street, off Essex Road.
Labour councillor Shelley Coupland says the mother-of-two’s flat is the worst in her ward. It is dank and smelly – allowing the mice, which she says can be mistaken for rats, to breed.
Ms Acheampong, 33, a part-time nursery supervisor, said: “I have been waiting for months for something to be done about this. I keep seeing them everywhere in my home, in my bedroom and in the kitchen. It’s so unhygienic.
The mother of two children, Queenesther, 9, and David, 3, added: “I’ve lived here since 1997 and never really been happy but this is the worst it’s ever been. Now I’m really scared for the health of my family and the whole thing is really stressful. Even my doctor said they are causing me stress.”
She rejects Peabody’s claim that her home has only mice, not rats.
Cllr Coupland, who has written letters of complaint to Peabody Trust, said: “This is a woman with a young family having to live in such inhumane conditions.
“It is without a doubt the worst I have seen in my ward. Something needs to be done immediately to get them out of danger.”
A Peabody Trust spokeswoman said it had no record of a flood at Ms Acheampong’s property in November. She added that the trust had carried out a number of jobs in the past month to the flat, particularly to bathroom, which had been re-tiled. The re-hanging of ceiling paper was expected to be completed shortly.
The spokeswoman said: “On May 24, the contractor sealed the entry points where the mice may have got into her flat.”
She added that a surveyor was due to inspect the property last week for possible pest control treatment. |
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