Rats climbing walls and seen 'every day' at Northampton council estate

Tenants at Cordwainer House, in Byfield Road, St James, say they see and hear the rodents "every day" and have put up with them for over a year.

One resident even filmed one investigating her window before scuttling up the wall towards the roof.

"I'm fed up with it, I'm scared to death of them," said the tenant, who asked not to be named. "I sit out at night and all I can hear from the bushes is squeaking and rustling."

Another resident claims their dog fell sick and died overnight after eating grass - or, according to their vet, possibly from a disease called Leptospirosis spread by rat urine that is lethal to dogs.

One resident, Anthony Bennett, says he has placed dozens of calls to Northampton Partnership Homes but has seen no action, and was told at one point he was free to put his own poison down.

He said: "I'm not prepared to pay for this out of my own pocket. We're asking for help to rid of them but we aren't getting any. We need help right now."

A spokeswoman for Northampton Partnership Homes said: "We are sorry that residents at Cordwainer House have experienced distress relating to rats in the area. We have been made aware of the issue on a few occasions over the past year and committed to take action to improve the situation for residents.

"We have instructed our pest control contractors to treat the surrounding area a number of times even though this is not our direct responsibility. This is a difficult community problem to resolve as rats can be found all over the town and are attracted to food and general waste which is beyond our control."

The housing association is also urging residents to report any case of fly-tipping on 0300 330 7003 or by using the self-serve council website.