Dad finds rats in playground of infested estate

RESIDENT SAYS RODENTS HAVE BEEN PRESENT FOR EIGHT YEARS

A LONDON dad living on a rat-infested estate said it is so bad he has been finding them dead in a playground.

Pimlico resident Kevin Kelly said he is embarrassed to invite friends round for dinner because he has been stuck living next to foul-smelling bins swarming with rats for nearly a decade.

Kevin said he is seeing rats every day at Lillington and Longmoore Estate, which is managed by Westminster City Council.

He said there have been issues with rats on the estate for around eight years and he has been constantly reporting the problem to councillors, but nothing has been done to sort them.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We’ve been having to put up with this for many, many years. The rats are coming out in their twenties and thirties.”

He added: “Over the past month or so I’ve been seeing them on a daily basis. I can’t put the rubbish in the recycling bins because I can hear them scratching and crawling inside them. I have opened the bins before and they have actually jumped out.”

Kevin, who has lived on the estate for 40 years, said he often sees people urinating and defecating near the bins and suspects non-residents also use them to dump rotten food waste.

He also claimed bin men often refuse to empty the bins because they are so filthy, blaming the residents for not recycling properly.

Kevin said he will not eat outside with his family in the summer because the smell is so bad and it is affecting the time he spends with his grandchildren.

He added: “It’s right next to a children’s playground – we are finding dead rats in the playground.

“It’s a constant thing that’s happening. I can’t even let my granddaughters look over the balcony because we are seeing men urinating and defecating over the recycling bins.

“I have to look out my window at that every day. It’s so embarrassing because I can’t have friends up because it’s just so disgusting.

“It’s a built-up residential area, it shouldn’t be happening.

“The smell is so strong I can’t even use the balcony.”

Westminster City Council has been contacted for comment.

KEVIN KELLY Dozens of rats are living in filthy bins on the estate, locals say