St Leonards mum concerned for her children as flat becomes infested with bed bugs – Rye and Battle Observer

Kennedy Court, in St Leonards. Picture: Google

Mum-of-two Ashley Richardson, 21, said her flat on the eleventh floor of Kennedy Court has made her 'very unwell and depressed'.

Ashley, who had been living in a mother and baby room, took on the flat in July 2019 from a disabled man who had lived there for more than 50 years and said it had been left in a 'terrible' condition.

She said the walls of the flat had been left in such a bad state it made decorating impossible, sinks were at chest height making it difficult for her son to wash his hands, and a radiator had fallen off the wall.

The windows were also not secured and, on one occasion, Ashley said she she stopped her son before he fell out the window of her eleventh floor flat.

Until two weeks ago, Ashley said she had been unable to turn off the heating due to a problem with the radiators and, after removing wall paper in her three-year-old son's bedroom, she discovered his room was infested with bed bugs.

"My child was getting eaten alive while he was asleep in his bedroom," Ashley said. "Where the previous owner had put so much wall paper up, I hadn't realised when taking it down that these bed bugs had been hiding in holes in the wall.

"My son's bed was infested. I've been told I need to remove all furniture and bag up all the items but I've not been given any support. I can't move any of the furniture because it could spread the problem elsewhere.

"I'm only a small person and these things are really affecting me. If I was a single person living on my own then I wouldn't mind so much but my children are really getting affected by it."

Optivo, who operate the building, said they were aware of the bedbugs and but said they had not received any other reports from within the building.

A spokesman said: Were working to support our resident to resolve this issue as soon as possible.

"Our pest control contractors have carried out two initial treatments and are expected to complete the final treatment this Friday (August 14).

"We want to reassure all residents at Kennedy Court that this issue is in hand and we havent had any other reports of bed bugs within the building.

"This pest is a growing problem across the UK. As well as treatment, we offer all those affected advice on how to prevent the spread.

"Well continue to monitor the situation at Kennedy Court and offer further treatment if its needed.

Ashley said the flat should never have been offered to her in the condition she found it but said she had no choice but to accept it after being told it could be years before she was offered something else.

"There are people who have lived in this building for 50 or 60 years," she added. "The guy before me lived in this flat for 50 years and died here. I'm only 21 but I'm so worried I will live my whole life here and end up dying here."

Read more from the original source:
St Leonards mum concerned for her children as flat becomes infested with bed bugs - Rye and Battle Observer