A Sheffield mother and her four-year-old son, who has complex needs, have been largely confined to a single bedroom in their council house for almost four years because of a persistent rat infestation. Three separate rounds of pest control, each involving fortnightly visits, have failed to clear the rodents, which the family say now occupy the walls, floors, appliances and garden of the property, leaving them too frightened to use the kitchen.

The infestation has ruined the boy's belongings and left him traumatised, while much-needed repair work has stalled because the council will not carry it out until the rat problem is resolved, leaving the family in limbo. The mother, who spends between £5 and £10 a week on traps, is calling on the council to rehouse them in a pest-free property that needs fewer structural repairs, saying the current conditions are unsafe and unhealthy for her son.