A motorist was forced to cough up £600 to fix his car after a rat gnawed through the wiring.
Mark Crosby, 50, says his housing estate is being terrorised by "thousands" of rodents and, after one chomped through wiring on his 1.6 litre Ford Focus, he lost his brake light, headlights, and electricity. Mr Crosby has since installed a £40 "rat alarm" on his vehicle to stop this from happening again.
But residents in Northam, Southampton claim they are being plagued by the animals, and have compared their experience to a "horror story". It's believed the rats have dug more than 100 burrows across the estate and groups of up to 20 have been seen at once. They've carved out a network of trenches across the lawn and left droppings everywhere.
Mr Crosby, who moved into his second-floor flat on the estate four years ago, said: "It's horrendous, it really is. I have had to pay out £600 to get my car electrics done because they chewed through all my wires."
"The rats are running around whether there are people there or not. They're in and out of the bins and just all over the place. One even jumped out of the bin onto my shoulder. They're not scared of us anymore, there's that many of them, they're not scared of humans. You stand by them and watch five, six, 10, of them just running around."
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Mr Crosby, originally from Leeds, West Yorkshire, avoids the neighbourhood's communal garden during summer due to the rat problem. He added: "You don't sit outside in the summer because you can't, there's too many of them."
Rats nesting in his Ford Focus "manifold" chewed through the wires. The motorist added: "It failed its MOT. I have had rats living under the bonnet You could blatantly see the nest and the rat droppings. They chewed through all the wires and the electricity of the car under the bonnet."
Residents on the Northam Estate, Southampton, are fed up with the infestation (Mark Crosby/Solent News & Photo)The man found the "rat alarm" - bought off eBay - emits a high-pitched screech only the rodents can hear. Mr Crosby hasn't seen any rat droppings on his motor since buying the device. However, he has encouraged Labour-controlled Southampton City Council to do more to help residents.
"It's like a horror story, but we are having to live with it. They are just not afraid of humans anymore and they're coming out in the day. They are scurrying throughout the day, scurrying throughout the night. We watch and complain, watch and complain to the council. Whatever the [council] are doings, it's not working," Mr Crosby said.
Another local, Berni Buxey, expressed her fear: "I'm scared to death. They have even scratched the rubber bungs off the bottom of the bins so that they can climb through it.
"She added: "I'm so concerned for the health of those who live here. We are desperate for the council to do something - we need more than just a few rat boxes."
Ann Little, a resident of nine years, shared a chilling experience: "One afternoon I was having a coffee on a picnic bench outside the building, when a rat ran over my foot." She also mentioned that the rats gather in the stairwell of the building and said: "They run across my balcony - I'm three floors off of the ground. These rats mate so quickly it's an infestation. They will come out for just a crumb.
"She criticised the council's handling of the situation: "I think the council have let this go on for so long, it's now too big of a problem. There are too many rats. I don't think they will ever get this sorted."
In response to these claims, a spokesperson for Southampton City Council stated: "Our Pest Control, Housing and Waste teams have been working in partnership over the last few years to tackle the issue of rats on the Northam Estate.
"There have been various baiting programmes in place and colleagues continue to investigate ways of eliminating this issue. Our teams will continue to update residents at regular neighbourhood walkabouts and forums."
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