Locals say council estate is overrun by 'cat-sized rats that 'gnaw through concrete'

Residents of the Coley Park claim the problem has got so bad that rats are gnawing into the concrete tower blocks which they can hear at night

Neighbours have spoken about harsh realities of living on a rat-infested council estate in Reading.

Residents of the Coley Park estate claim the problem has got so bad that rats are gnawing into the concrete tower blocks which they can hear at night.

Residents also say they have seen "rats the size of cats" - despite measures being put in place by Reading Borough Council to help solve the issue.

Some neighbours fear the problems on the estate could get worse when new council homes are built.

Steve Weston, 39, lives in the area with his partner, three boys aged 13, 11 and nine, and two girls aged seven and five.

He told BerkshireLive : "Every block has the problem. It's been going on a couple of years.

"I don't think we're going to see an end it. There are babies to cat-sized rats. We see some during the day, more come out when it gets dark.

"I was in the kitchen one night and I heard the bin men shouting because they all [the rats] ran out of the bins.

"On the ground floor it absolutely stinks.

"Exterminators are trying to put poison down, but I think the rats are immune to the poison. There are people [exterminators] sitting in the car park in the evening until 12 with guns [to shoot at the rats]."

He said: "They [the children] are still a little bit petrified. They're scared but you get used to it. Even I'm scared of them to an extent,  I don't want them near me with their diseases!"

Lockdown meant many families spent more time at home, with the issues around them 24 hours a day.

Mr Weston said: "I've been working through it all, so it's not affected me, but it has meant the kids are stuck at home."

Susanne McNamee, 57, who has lived in the area for 16 years, says: "It's terrible. At the moment I've got them in my flat.

"I think there's one still in my bedroom. I can hear them in the walls at night.

"A few years ago I had them breeding in my bedroom

"I've phoned the council many times, they've said it's my responsiblilty. I don't buy that, because they come in from the outside.

"It smells really bad. Exterminators came a couple of weeks ago, shooting them. They shot about five. It's ridiculous. I've asked to move but nothing's happened."

The problem is so bad neighbours say the rats are boring holes into the tower blocks. Video captured by one neighbour shows rats swarming round the bins and the holes they have created at the foot of the blocks.

But it's not only people living in the towers that have problems with rats.

Dina Fappiano, 49, who lives on the Wensley Road loop, said: "Two rats came into the house when we've had the door open. They're not frightened of humans. You see the scurrying across the road.

"Every month or two months they send someone out to shoot the rats. For every one they do shoot there's another 12. We as residents see it as a pointless exercise, so the council can say they're doing something.

"These rats are gnawing and eating away at the structure of the high rise flats, which will inevitably weaken it, yet the council said it will only be tackled as part of the new development.

"Surely existing social housing issues should be dealt with prior to any new housing built; where is the duty of care from the council? Existing residents are being ignored.

"The council's answer to it is when the development is done they will sort out some proper refuse storage. But we should not have to wait for a development for the living conditions to be made bearable.

"They should be maintaining what they have at the minute rather than dealing with it then. It's not nice having the rat problem. There is also a huge parking problem in the area, I also see syringes down the alleyway to Courage Park."

The park has been a target for fly-tippers,  who have left piles of rubbish in wooded areas  in the past.

Despite all the issues, Ms Fappiano still has a soft spot for the area.

She said: "The actual loop area is quite nice... the older children look after the younger children.

"We do have a bit of greenery around the flats.

"At the moment I feel that the neighbours do support each other. We have a bit of a community feel around here."

But not everyone echoes Ms Fappiano's views and some are desperate to move away.

Joanna Dem, 53, who lives in nearby with her husband, son, 18, and daughter, 13 said: "It's got worse.

"They've put antisocial behaviour signs up in the last couple of months.

"My husband had his car window broken into and his sat nav stolen, six months later he had his bike stolen.

"I've had people that I barely know knocking on my door asking for money.

"It's the worse placed I've lived. I used to live in Whitley and there's more community spirit there."

Mrs Dem is originally from Grimsby, but has lived in the area for 13 years.

Kerry Humphreys, 44, also had little good to say about the area: "I want to move out.

"Once you get in the blocks you're never getting out of them. No one wants to swap out.

"According to the council, my house is adequate, because I've got two bedrooms. 

"But it's just horrible. And the smell from the rats is hard. It's so strong on the ground floor, you're embarrassed to bring people to visit you. There's no community spirit.

"The police are constantly out here. You see them come three, four, five times a day sometimes.

"My daughter's 13, we feel to ashamed to invite her friends to the area."

She believes the council needs to start from scratch.

When asked how the council can improve the estate, Ms Humphreys said: "I can't see what they can do.

"It's just going downhill."

Mrs McNamee, agreed: "It's very rough these days. It's not improved since I've been here."

Ms Humphreys also believes the area will get worse once the new homes are built.

She said: "There will be more rats about.

"Because the rats live in the garages, and they're all being pulled down when this building starts.

"[The work] is going to disturb any wildlife round there.

"In the blocks we've got a problem with pharaoh ants in the flats now."

Ms Dem agreed: "There'll be more rats about, the park is going to be smaller, trees are going, the environment will suffer."

A Reading Borough Council spokesman said: "Unfortunately rats continue to be an issue for as long as they have a food source.

"We’d like to thank the vast majority of residents who have worked with us, and responded to the letters we have sent out, by putting their rubbish in bins, ensuring bins lids are fully closed and not fly-tipping.

"However there remain regular cases of bins being left open and bags of waste being dumped on the ground, both of which encourage rats.

"We will very shortly be running a new campaign across the estate to ask residents to work with us to help solve this problem.

"The campaign is in addition to numerous measures which have been in place for some time.

"These include regular inspections and baiting by specialist pest controllers, bin collections three times a week, twice daily visits by a council officer to deal with any litter or rubbish left around the bins, and a regular cleaning programme for bin stores and bin chutes.

"Pest control also carry out regular additional culls when needed.

"The new development on Coley Park provides desperately needed additional homes for people in the local area, improved play facilities for children, new garages and more regularised parking.

"In addition it will provide a much improved built environment on the estate which will involve the removal of some of the areas in which rats have previously been found.

"We very much hope this issue can be eradicated long before then, by continuing to work closely with residents."