Hangleton woman tells of sleepless nights after rat hell

The woman was at home watching television when she spotted the rodent scurrying along next to the skirting boards and has been terrified ever since.

She spent all night petrified by its relentless squeaking as it scurried around the flat in Buckley Close, near Hangleton.

It was almost 48 hours before her grandson was able to catch the rat with the help of neighbours.

Other people living in the same block of flats say they have also been affected by persistent pest problems in the building.

The rat was caught by the resident's grandson

The grandmother told The Argus: “I was panicking, I was sat on the worktop in the kitchen until four in the morning."

“I didn’t go to bed, I was hunting around the front room, it was scary. I heard it squeaking and saw it run from under my television cabinet.

"I said to my grandson, ‘there’s a rat, there’s a rat’, he thought I was exaggerating.

It was later released, unharmed

“We shouldn’t have to live like this, I don’t feel safe in my own home.

“I used industrial disinfectant, all the floors, bleached all the worktops because you don’t know where they go in the night."

The woman spotted the rat on Saturday and it was Monday before it was eventually caught.

Photographs show the giant creature trapped inside a plastic box.

It is just the latest rodent discovery in the block, with residents saying they have been suffering with rats in their homes for nearly two decades.

Another resident, Shannen Keating says she has been plagued by sleepless nights herself, with rats running through the ceiling and under the floor in her home.

The 29-year-old has now contacted Brighton and Hove City Council, which operates the flats, on behalf of her neighbour to demand it finds a way to solve the issue. 

Buckley Close

On Tuesday morning, the council sent a builder to the property where the rat was found, to fill gaps with expanding foam and special boards.

The builder is reported to have said to the resident that “there’s no guarantee that this will stop the problem” before leaving.

A pest control expert attended the following day to re-fill bait traps outside the block of flats.

“It’s a health and safety hazard, but the council will not see it for what it is,” said Shannen.

“I think they think they can just keep on putting expanding foam and filling holes here, there, and everywhere – but they’ve already admitted there’s a massive hole underneath the building.”

Shannen said it has been confirmed to her by pest control personnel that the rats travel through a hollow shaft that runs from underneath the building, through the properties, and into the loft.

She explained that children of one family in the block have become so scared of the rat noises in their bedroom at night that the entire family sleeps in the main living area together.

The council recently built 12 new homes opposite the troubled block in Buckley Close, leaving residents pondering how new homes can be built, when the current ones are in need of such desperate attention.

The Argus reported in November of last year that Shannen had found a dead rat in her property, which, as it decomposed, left a smell that “you cannot forget”.

The newly fitted preventive boarding

The council said at the time that it is “fully committed” to solving the problem.

At the time, Dawn Barnett, Conservative councillor for Hangleton and Knoll, said: “The council needs to sort it out once and for all. You are always going to have rats in any city, but you deal with them and they’re not dealing with them.”

Responding to the continuing issue of rats in Buckley Close, a spokesman for Brighton and Hove City Council said: “There are rats living in the extensive woodland area near Buckley Close.

"Unfortunately, it is simply not possible to eliminate them completely. 

“We appreciate the upset caused when people come across rats, particularly in the buildings they live in. 

“With this in mind, works to prevent rats entering the blocks in Buckley Close are a big priority for us. 

“We implemented a rat management programme there in November 2021. This involved sealing holes in the external walls and regular re-baiting of the communal loft space and external areas, as well as monitoring of the two blocks on either side (of the block affected).  

“We were contacted about a rat in a Buckley Close flat on 19 April 2022. On the same day we blocked the entry holes in this flat. The following day our pest control contractor re-baited the external areas. We have responded similarly to other rat reports on Buckley Close historically.

A duct inside a flat, that it is believed the rats use to travel through the block

“We are now arranging to completely block access from all flats to the service duct that runs through the block where the drainpipes are located – which is where we believe the rats are gaining entry. 

“In general terms, when treatment is needed inside a property, we need permission from residents to undertake the treatment.  

“We occasionally offer to temporarily re-house residents when extensive treatment is needed inside a property. But we are not looking to permanently re-house any Buckley Close residents. 

“We are confident that the works to the service ducts, along with continued communal baiting, will prevent future problems with rats entering the flats. 

“Residents wishing to move to different properties are encouraged to bid for them through our home move scheme.”