A mum has told of a rat infestation so bad she had to clear her entire kitchen cupboard after finding droppings in her baby’s bottle.

Susie Hughes, 33, of Benhams Road, was shocked to find a box of baby milk covered in excrement along with her eight-month-old daughter's bottle soiled.

The mum-of-five binned the food and was left horrified.

She said: “We pulled out everything from the cupboard after seeing the rat droppings.

“I binned cereal and all the food that was in my cupboard, it cost me a lot of money.”

Daily Echo: Rat dropping found covering the box of baby food Rat dropping found covering the box of baby food (Image: Provided)

Together with her neighbour Danielle Hindle, 35, the two believe the issue has been caused by rubbish dumped out the back of a convenience store called Avenue Grocers on Meggeson Avenue, despite Susie living across the road from the shop.

Cans of beer and drinks have been dumped on the floor at the back of the store.

When contacted by the Echo, the owner of the store said he is working to get the rubbish cleared.

Daily Echo: Danielle Hindle, 35Danielle Hindle, 35 (Image: Newsquest)

Danielle, an eyelash technician, lives in the flats above the shop and said she hears squeaking and scratching inside the walls of her flat.

The mum of three has used six bags of rat poison to try to clear out the rodent infestation – but she said even that has not worked.

She said: “I have never seen rats here before up until this year. It has always been quite clean in this area.

“You can hear them squeaking and scratching inside the walls and under the floorboards.

“I had a client leaving my house and she saw a rat as she was walking out. It’s just not nice is it.”

Amrit Singh, owner of the Avenue Grocers, said he has had pest control in but does not know where the rats are coming from.

He added he hopes to clear the rubbish in “a few days”.

A spokesperson for Southampton City Council said: “Officers have been in contact with the operator of the business, requiring a quantity of accumulated refuse to be removed from within the premises to a skip, which is awaiting collection.

“Officers are working with the business to ensure that appropriate pest control measures are taken to deal with the rat infestation.”