RESIDENTS of new build properties in Oakridge have been up in arms at a rat problem in their street.

The buildings in Freemantle Close were constructed by VIVID in 2014, and one resident has claimed that due to them ‘not being finished’, rodents have been inside many of the properties.

According that resident, who does not wish to be named, due to the floor outside the property underneath the house not being finished, rats are getting inside the house, with the same problem being experienced in neighbouring properties.

The problem first started to become apparent four months ago, when the rats started to appear.

The resident said: “After getting out a separate, independent builder, we determined that the cause of the problem was that it was simply not finished.

“They are coming up through pipes that are not filled in, and sometimes getting into kitchen cupboards. Once the front was dug up, it really looked like they had cut corners.”

This has had an adverse effect on several of the resident’s neighbours, with some taking more extreme action.

The resident added: “There are people who have moved away because of this. They don’t want to bring their children up in a place with rats. They can’t eat as their kitchen has rats in it, and this is a problem that VIVID are aware of.

“They [VIVID] say that it is a pest control problem, and even though they have been out several times in the past few weeks, the problem hasn’t been solved.

“It’s disgusting, and we can’t live with vermin in an unfinished house. The problem of a poor build has led to this, with some of them even having holes behind the toilets where they are coming in.”

So far, the pest control has been visiting almost weekly for the past month.

Chief operating officer at VIVID, Tom Norris, said: “We’re sorry for the distress this has caused our customers.

“We’ve appointed a specialist pest control company and have commissioned a series of investigations, which we hope will solve the problem.

“We’ll continue to monitor the situation until it’s resolved.”