16 January 2023 , 09:00
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A mum says she is on the verge of a nervous breakdown after an infestation of rats returned to her kitchen.
Cara Winnie Jones' rodent problem was fixed by her local council almost a year ago but she is now worried for her mental health.
The 37-year-old and her two children were "trapped" in their bedroom and living on takeaways before the fix.
And with more rats making themselves at home in flat in Solihill, West Midlands, the desperate mum is at her wits' end.
Cara, a cleaner, said she is struggling to get hold of the council for help.
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The local authority has since said it is sorry to hear the problem has returned.
The council resolved the issue a year ago but it's returned (BPM Media)Speaking to Birmingham Live, she said: "I can't cope. My anxiety is through the roof and I've had no sleep because I'm on edge.
"I've tried ringing the housing to no joy. Their website says it's temporarily unavailable so I don't know what to do to report it."
Last time, Cara said her mental health took a dip when she found dead vermin in her mop bucket.
She said she had been forced to stay with her mum during the day but was plagued by the horror of hearing the rats scuttle around her living space through the night.
Cara said her mental health is suffering (Josh Sandiford / BirminghamLive)Cara explained rats were coming in after digging holes in the communal garden which her kitchen backs onto.
The shared space was found to be unkept with rubbish bins overflowing.
Eventually the council filled holes and put poison down - but now the furry agitators have returned.
"I just can't believe it," Cara went on.
Rubbish outside Cara's building (BPM Media)"Last time they came out to clear [the] rubbish and that was it. Because it's a communal block everyone is throwing their trash out [the] back which leads onto my garden.
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"Now the rats are back and I feel like it's never gonna end.
"Just removing the rubbish and telling neighbours to keep it clean isn't working. They don't have the rats coming in their house. I'm disgusted and at my wits' end."
Last time, Cara said that despite thoroughly cleaning the kitchen with bleach to get rid of "rat droppings and wee", she was still too terrified to use the space to cook meals for her children. And now her fears are even worse.
Cara is scared to cook in her kitchen (BPM Media)Cara added: "I can't cope with every little noise. I'm going to work and I'm tired. I'm going to have a nervous breakdown.
"I've been trying to ring the housing but it just keeps ringing through. You go on their website and it says it's down. I can't even report it."
Cara - whose two children are 14 and 18 - said she would now enquire about whether the council could move her to a different property.
"I can't be dealing with it," she said. "I've tried ringing and ringing them."
A spokesperson for Solihull Community Housing said: “We are very sorry to hear that this family has experienced a problem with rats. We did visit the property previously to cut back the garden area and we believe this solved the problem.
"We are sorry to learn that the rats have returned. We have met with the resident this week and our pest control team are again taking action to remove any rats they find at the property and put additional measures in place to prevent their return.”