'You can hear them all night' - Reading mum's horror over rat-infested block of flats

• ITV Meridian's Penny Silvester reports from Reading

Residents at a block of flats in Reading say their homes are being over-run by a plague of rats, and are urging their housing association landlords to solve the issue.

Tenants say the noise of the animals scratching and gnawing the walls is keeping them awake at night.

One mother described being 'horrified' when a rat ran over her son's foot in the kitchen.

They say the property in Oxford Road is not being properly maintained, which makes it easier for the rodents to get in.

Pest control officers have plugged holes and gaps with silicone, but the families say rats chew through the material and are running rampant through their homes.

Mother-of-two Ashley McMillan says she can hear them chewing on the carpets, running along the pipes and gnawing on the floors and walls at night.

"It's really hard because you can't sleep because you can hear them all night and you're wondering if they're in your property or still in the walls," she said.

"My children are absolutely petrified to come home and they don't want to go to sleep.

"I'm worried if my children touch anything as I'm worried if a rat has been on it. If the children touch their faces, I worry about their health and mine.

"It's taking its toll on my mental health."

Fellow tenant Hayley Stace says the poor state of repair at their Housing Association flats is making the problem worse.

She says the toilet in her home has been leaking for more than a year, damaging the floor and causing the problems in the ceiling of the flat directly below.

"We have rats coming in the kitchen and one ran over my sons foot. My cats catch them and we find them dead in the kitchen.

Both women say their complaints to the Housing Association landlords are falling on deaf ears.

A spokesperson for Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing said: "There have been several issues at this converted Victorian town house in Oxford Road, Reading, and we are working hard to resolve each at no cost to residents.

"There are few things as upsetting as the presence of rodents around your home, and we have every sympathy for the residents affected. We have been doing everything we can to address this issue and have visited the property several times to carry out preventative works.

"This has included extensive investigation and work to the interior and exterior of the property, and we are continuing to undertake proofing works to close all potential points of entry. Pest control treatment can be a drawn-out process and we will continue to work with the resident until this issue is fully resolved.

"We also fully understand residents' concerns about the condition of the windows. The safety and wellbeing of residents is our absolute priority and we have been liaising with Reading Borough Council to secure agreement to replace the windows at this listed property. Agreement has now been reached and an order placed and we will liaise directly with residents ahead of the start of this work as well as in the meantime to undertake temporary measures to ensure the safety of the existing windows. 

"We have already carried out extensive repairs work to Ms Stace's bathroom and regret that problems remain during what has been a difficult period for her.

"We are now carrying out further urgent work under the flooring of the bathroom to resolve this issue."

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