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Rat infestation is blighting area, say residents

John Devine/BBC
Reporting fromBretton
John Devine/BBC Bethany Ailing wears her long dark hair in a low, tight pony tail. She is smiling at the camera and has a black top on with white edging. She is photographed outside and behind her are residential properties and the top of a wooden picket fence.John Devine/BBC
Bethany Ailing says it reflects badly on the neighbourhood to see rats both dead and alive in the area

People living in a residential area of a city said their lives were being blighted by vermin.

According to people living in Oxclose in Bretton, Peterborough, the area has had an infestation of rats for the past three years.

Residents claimed a piece of scrub land owned by Peterborough City Council has become overgrown with ivy and a breeding ground for the animals.

Cross Keys Homes, which manages a nearby property affected by the ivy, said it has made two requests to the local authority to remove the plant.

Peterborough City Council said it was investigating the issue.

Kiki Shaw A dead rat laying on a tarmac pathway in the Oxclose area of Bretton.Kiki Shaw
According to residents dead rats are a common sight in their street

Bethany Ailing, 29, has lived in Oxclose her whole life and said she felt embarrassed with the appearance of rats outside her home.

"It's a tidy area, people take care of their gardens there is not rubbish everywhere. I don't want friends coming round and seeing dead rats, it's disgusting.

"The other day we were outside having a conversation with neighbours when a rat just ran past us all and went under next door's decking, some of them are quite big, it's not nice," she added.

John Devine/BBC Andy Warren has short grey hair and matching beard and moustache he is wearing a high visibility yellow hoodie top with a grey t-shirt underneath. He is standing in front of a residential garden with parked cars and houses seen behind him.John Devine/BBC
Andy Warren says he now has rats in his loft which he believes climbed up ivy on his neighbour's wall and into their roof space before moving to his property

Andy Warren lives in a housing association property in Oxclose and said his landlords sent out a pest controller to deal with the rats.

"I lay in bed at night and hear them running about in the loft, two weeks ago a rat catcher came out and put bait down, a week later I had a look and it was as if the rats had thrown a party - all the empty trays scattered everywhere but no rats caught," he said.

Mr Warren said his neighbour, who lives in a property managed by Cross Keys Homes, has ivy growing up the side of the building and believed rats were climbing it to access the loft space.

John Devine/BBC An overgrown area of land about 4m (13ft) square next to a residential home, it has dumped vegetation and the remains of some ivy that was cut down.John Devine/BBC
Residents say they believe the four metre (13ft) square unkept area is a "breeding ground" for rats

Cross Keys Homes said its maintenance team removed ivy from the rear of a property in Oxclose.

It added that if the local authority does not clear the scrub land, it will attend the property again to see what work can be done to improve the situation and to help the residents while a "long-term solution was reached".

Peterborough City Council said it was investigating the issue.

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