Eastleigh woman hides in bedroom for 5 days after seeing rat

Fatemah Mafi, 38 and her boyfriend Martin Spanner, 31, have been confined to their bedroom after they spotted the rodents - with Martin even mistaking one for a hair band.

The couple, who live at The Sidings housing complex owned by Abri Housing on Judd Close in Eastleigh, said the association has done nothing to help them deal with the rat issue - and Abri has since apologised.

'I thought I was going to pass away'

The 38-year-old head of communications first realised something was wrong when she heard noises coming from a plastic bag on the kitchen floor.

She said: “When I looked at the bag I saw a little head popping out.

“I screamed and it ran off. I ran into my bedroom and called my boyfriend. He then called his parents to come get me.”

She added: “I was absolutely terrified, I thought I was going to pass away.”

READ MORE: Mum desperate to move from rat infested house

On Sunday, her partner Martin opened a drawer in their kitchen to find what looked to him looked like a hair bobble - only to find that it had a tail and moved.

She added: “He was absolutely terrified and he works in construction so he is a tough guy. He banged on the wall because he couldn’t even speak.”

Since then, Fatemah - who works from home - has confined herself to her en-suite bedroom out of fear of encountering another furry pest.

She said she has been spending a lot of money on takeaways as she is now avoiding using her kitchen.

While Martin has been out to work, he has also stayed in their bedroom for as much time as he can when he is back at home.

Other neighbours in the block have also tried to raise the issue of persistent rodent activity in flats and in bin compartments in the housing block for the last two years.

Alisdaire Pither, 48 (Image: Newsquest)

Alisdaire Pither, 48, and his wife, Sarah, constantly hear rodent activity above their ceiling at night - driving their cats insane.

They have been trying to get Abri Housing to look at the issue, but he said nothing happened until he told customer service he had got in touch with the Echo.

He said: "When I called them last week to tell them I had approached the Echo, they came around and disinfected the bins. It’s crazy that it has to get to this for any action to be taken."

Jim Bruckel, Head of Customer Partnership at Abri, said: “The safety and wellbeing of our customers is our highest priority. We take pest issues very seriously and are sorry for the upset and inconvenience this issue has caused our customers.

"We have identified the root cause of the issue and are working to resolve it as quickly as possible.

"We’re also working closely with our pest control contractor who have made several visits to lay down bait traps and carried out work to the exterior of the building to prevent the pests from entering the building.

"Pest control are currently carrying out further work in some properties and are contacting other customers who have raised issues, to book in visits to assess and carry out any works required to stop pests from returning.

"We will continue to work with our customers until the matter is fully resolved.”