A number of residents at a privately owned house in Bracknell house have been experiencing the presence of rats within their walls and kitchen counters over the past few years.

Due to the increase in fly-tipping and continued residue of everyday waste within the grounds, the building has been found to be a hotbed for rodents.

A disabled woman who was placed with the house on London Road by Bracknell Forest council in 2019 has said that she is finding it very hard dealing with the issues that have been happening since she was placed in the building by Bracknell Forest council housing.

She explains:  “I noticed there was a problem with the rubbish when I first moved in and I thought it was teething issues and then I saw rats around and then heard them in my bedroom walls.

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“I alerted the council about it and they said it was down to the landlord because it was on private land. When I went back to my landlord, they contacted pest control.

“I have been told that they are due to come round this week, but I don’t think it will make a difference if they do get rid of the current rats.

“With the amount of rubbish out the back along with the big mountain of garden waste, my son has seen them coming in and out of and it seems impossible.”

Neighbours have also alerted that there have been rats within their kitchen’s feasting on food along their counter tops recently.

The Appex House resident has said that she is on the bidding list to obtain a two bed for herself and her son as they are currently sharing a one bed due to limited Bracknell housing stock. The house was originally a Bracknell Forest managed building before it was transferred to a landlord and became private.

She said: “It’s an absolute nightmare at the moment. This has been going on for a while and I feel like the building is being neglected.

“I’ve been back to the landlord many times but and I’ve even contacted environmental health who were great at first but I’m not getting a response with them either at the moment.”

The house has also been a source of fly-tipping with people leaving items such as mattresses, TV’s, cots and furniture in the middle of the night which again attracts rodents and bin misuse.

Damian James, Assistant Director for Contract Services, said: “Our waste crews have been going to Apex House as per the advertised schedule. However, unfortunately, the recycling bins have been filled up with non-recyclable waste and so cannot be collected -  this is because doing so would contaminate the whole truck load of recycling and risk it all being sent to landfill.  

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“Additionally, our policy is that all refuse bins should not be overloaded, which is why, on occasion, the landfill waste has not been collected at Apex House.

“Each time we have been unable to collect waste or recycling from the property, we have contacted the managing agent and asked them to ensure waste is put out correctly for collection. The managing agent has responsibility to ensure all bins are put out according to our waste and recycling policies; we would be happy to work with the agent to provide additional communication and engagement with residents, should they need support.”   

Public Protection Partnership said: We havn’t heard anything about it It might be it’s because it’s on private land and therefore might currently been seen by Bracknell Council and their contractors. We’ve contacted the contractors to see if we can get an update, but haven’t heard back as yet.