Surrey mum who fled home after finding rat droppings unable to return seven weeks on

A mum-of-three from Surrey who was forced to leave her flat due to a rat infestation, is still waiting to return, seven weeks after she found faeces in her pots and pans.

Katie Carr said her family’s mental health has deteriorated during the ordeal, with 10 people crammed into her sister’s house while she waits for the problem to be fixed.

She first noticed something was wrong in her Bookham flat when she and her partner heard something moving in the walls of her kitchen.

Then a few days later, she was woken by her partner, Jack, in the middle of the night who said he spotted a rat in their kitchen.

After more sightings of a “huge” rat, the couple quickly realised their home had become overrun, with rat droppings found in pots and pans while they cleared out their cupboards.

“There was rat poo everywhere,” she said. “We had new carpet laid down, we had to rip open our sofa because there were signs of them being in the sofa. Everything in my flat needs replacing."

Katie told their housing association, Clarion Housing, about what had happened the next day and she, Jack and three children, Sophia-Mae, 9, Isabelle-Rose, 7 and one-year-old Freddie, were moved to a Travelodge.

However, with the hotel unable to provide a cot and with the other children struggling to adapt to the new surroundings, she has lived with her sister for the past seven weeks.

Now fed up of waiting to move back into her home, she has called on Clarion to fix the problem soon or to be rehoused completely.

She added: “I’m on the verge of a breakdown. There’s 10 people in this household and it’s getting too much now. Clarion are just taking their time and I'm like ‘it’s affecting our mental health.'

“Every single day I’m chasing up. In the whole seven weeks its been going on I’ve had about two callbacks, it’s constantly us chasing. It is getting ridiculous. If we're being completely straight I still reckon it will be another 8 weeks before we’re even home and that isn’t doable."

Katie says the infestation was caused by an issue with the drainage system and once this is fixed, a deep clean of her property can take place. But she says this will only happen when it has been pest free for a week and she is still in the dark about when this may take place.

Responding to her complaints, a Clarion Housing spokesperson could not say when the works would be completed. Given the severity of the issue they said rehousing the family may be a better "solution".

They added: “We appreciate how unpleasant and inconvenient this situation has been and we are sorry to hear how this has impacted the family. Clarion’s pest control specialists have been working hard to find a solution to the issue and have carried out an extensive treatment programme in the building and in the resident’s home, including baiting and carrying out a CCTV drainage survey.

“Our team have updated our resident on the progress of the treatment and we are currently discussing whether a permanent move to another property might be a preferred solution. The housing team will continue to provide the family with support until a resolution is found.”