Rat infestation at Reading housing estate 'out of control'

• Video report by ITV Meridian's Charlotte Briere-Edney 

Residents of a housing estate in Reading say a rat infestation affecting their homes, is "out of control".

The rats settled in apartment blocks on Wensley Court around five years ago and have grown in numbers and confidence ever since.

A video filmed just outside the block's front door, shows dozens them piling onto a bag of rubbish, preventing residents from going inside.

• WATCH: Rats at Wensley Court, filmed by a resident

Reading Borough Council says the rats moved in when sprinklers were retro-fitted in the building after the Grenfell fire, giving the rats a convenient source of water. 

Pest controllers say the number of rats across the Thames Valley has increased during the last 12 months, largely because of lockdown.

And, up to 3/4 of rats in the UK are said to be resistant to popular rat poisons.

• What do the residents think?

The council in Reading has made improvements by increasing the number of bins and how often they're collected and cleaned.

In the next few weeks, Reading Borough Council says it will be conducting more culling.

It also said they're in the process of removing and replacing the plinths around the base of the blocks, where rats build their tunnels.