COUNCIL chiefs have vowed to take action after a young mum found a rat just inches from her baby.

A pest control team will be sent to a council-owned hostel where rodents have invaded the communal kitchen and some of the bedsits.

Victims of the infestation include Stacey Lugg, 20, who was woken by the sound of rats scratching.

She looked around the room and was horrified to see one of the rodents near a Moses basket occupied by her three-month-old son Preston.

"I just grabbed him and jumped back on the bed," she said.

"I'm worried that Preston will be bitten by a rat. The council should either deal with the problem or move us out."

Stacey and her boyfriend, James Amos, live in a first-floor room at the St Antony's complex in Lyndhurst Road, Ashurst.

They had been there for only two weeks when rats started coming in every night, crawling over their possessions and chewing their way into plastic bags.

Stacey added: "We lie in bed at night listening to them - it makes you feel sick."

One of the worst affected rooms in the hostel is the kitchen, which has become a virtual no-go area. Residents are buying takeaways rather than prepare food in an area plagued by rodents.

Gemma Crespin, 22, said that she was standing at the sink and screamed in terror when one of the rats ran over her feet.

Facial injury Stacey Haynes, who was also in the kitchen at the time, ran towards the back door and crashed into a metal-framed cupboard, sustaining a facial injury that required hospital treatment.

She said: "We can't bring the children in here because of the rats and we can't leave them alone in our rooms."

Fellow resident Zoe Mitchell, who has a four-year-old son, said: "It's really taken over our lives. We can't even make a cup of tea in the kitchen at night."

The hostel is owned by New Forest District Council, which uses the building to house homeless people who are waiting for permanent accommodation.

Residents demanded action when Ashurst councillor Derek Tipp visited the property to hear their complaints. The council later issued a statement saying that a pest control team would be sent to the hostel to deal with the rats.

The statement added: "The portfolio holder for housing, Jill Cleary, has been made aware of the situation and has ordered immediate action to be taken.

"She will be visiting St Antony's next week to assess the situation and see what progress has been made."