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A terrified family in Grimsby are living in fear as their house has been plagued by “four years’ worth” of rats in the space of a week. Amie Kavanagh, 31, Shane Brown, 34, and their children Chloe, 11, Lily-Rose, nine, and Harvey, seven, have spent hours hunting the rodents and have resorted to sleeping in the same room because the infestation is so bad.

Ms Kavanagh suffers from severe Crohn’s disease and takes immune-suppressive medication. She says she is fearing for her life in case a rat bites her and it is fatal.

She told GrimsbyLive: “They are coming up through the floorboards and the walls. Around the house we have had to board up a number of holes, but they are popping up everywhere. 

“In the past seven days, we have seen rats ranging in size, getting bigger as the days go on. We haven’t bought food for the cupboards because we don’t know what they are eating.”

Her partner Shane Brown said he just “wants to burn the house down”.

The couple don’t work due to Ms Kavanagh’s health and Mr Brown being carer for her and their autistic son, Harvey.

Ms Kavanagh says she feels as though the family are “trapped” and the chances of getting a guarantor so they can move is “impossible”.

She said: “We don’t sleep, we barely eat and we spend all our time catching rats. Our son’s anxiety is through the roof and he only sleeps an hour a night.

“I feel like a failure as a mum. I can’t give the kids a nice home whilst all this is going on.”

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In response to the claims, the letting agent of the property, Belvoir Estates, says they had arranged for pest control to visit the property on Monday, but that appointment was cancelled by the tenants.

A spokesperson added: “After much searching, we found someone who can hopefully go to the property today to sort out this issue. We are doing what we need to do to help the tenants as much as we can.” 

A spokesman from Northeast Lincolnshire Council said: “We can confirm that our officers have worked with the landlord and the tenant to arrange for a visit from pest control.

“We have arranged a visit to the property to carry out an inspection and will continue to work with both parties to ensure that this happens.”

Additional reporting by Luke Green.

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