Council tenant Peter Francis, an excavator operator, says he can no longer eat in the kitchen and has lost two stone in weight
A 60-year-old council tenant claims his maisonette has become infested with moths and beetles after his roof ‘collapsed’ – leaving him ‘unable to eat’ and two stone lighter.
Peter Francis, a digger driver, said the incident happened during renovation work in February and now moths have gotten onto his kitchen tops, sink, plates and carpets – leaving poo and larvae in their wake.
He also claims another critter, varied carpet beetles, have invaded his bathroom – getting into his bathtub, sink and even on his toothbrush.
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But he claims Birmingham City Council have told him he ‘doesn’t have a pest problem’ and the local authority has charged him £104 to visit his home in Chelsea Court, Abdon Avenue, Bournville.
Mr Francis said: “Since the roof collapse, my flat has become infested with moths. I’ve lost about two stone in weight because I cannot eat in my kitchen.
“There’s dead moths here, there and everywhere and from what I’ve had to vacuum up.
“I’ve had to use the spray on them. They are on my kitchen, on my plate, on the sink, they are everywhere.”
He continued: “You go in a kitchen where you open a drawer and moths fly out.
“There’s moth droppings on work tops, they look like pepper, spilled pepper. Apparently, if this has happened, there is larvae somewhere.”
Mr Francis said his carpet has ‘started fraying around the edges’ which is a ‘perfect sign’ that they’ve become ‘infested’.
While he said his television was damaged by falling plasterboards knocking over paint onto it, leaving him forced to borrow one.
Regarding varied carpet beetles getting into his bathroom, he added: “The bathroom, with the damp, is perfect for them apparently.”
Mr Francis claims he returned home one day to find the ceiling had collapsed in his bedroom, with plasterboard lying on the floor.
He suspects this was caused by the impact of something landing on his roof, during renovation work on the block of properties where his maisonette is located, carried out by either the council or its contractor Fortem.
Mr Francis says his estate is currently undergoing refurbishment, with scaffolding erected around Chelsea Court.
“I know what has happened because I’m in the building game myself,” said Mr Francis.
“The roof covers about six blocks. Mine is not a free-standing building, they just happened to be working above mine.
“They have got a telescopic forklift, (a worker) is dropping stuff up there, I think something has obviously slipped or fell off to cause that much damage.
“Nothing else could have caused it.”
Despite his pest issue rumbling on for a number of months, Mr Francis said he’s had no help from Birmingham City Council or Fortem to rectify the issue – despite making more than 78 telephone calls.
He claims the only time council workers visited was to carry away chunks of plasterboard from his bedroom, leaving trodden pieces of plaster in the carpet of his hallway.
“They (the council) are not doing a thing,” he said.
“When I got in touch with the council, they said it is not classed as a pest problem and they want £104 a visit.
“I ain’t got that sort of money. They keep promising they are going to come out.
“They said you need to cover where the moths are getting in, I don’t know where they are getting in, this roof covers six blocks of roofs.
“It could be at the far end, but they have found a way into mine.”
At a wit’s end over the issue, Mr Francis, who lives by himself, said he’s now had to stop working.
This is due to him being in fear of missing a visit from the council, after recalling one incident of this taking place.
“That’s what they will use against me, I want compensating for this,” he said.
“I don’t want to live like that. The people I’m trying to complain to, none of them would live like that.”
He added: “It’s really stressing me out, I can’t eat. Imagine yourself eating with dead moths here and there, crawling all over the floor.
“I’ve had 78 phone calls, I haven’t got any further. They are blaming each other (the council and Fortem).
“I’ve been given 12 different numbers since this happened. It’s now seriously affecting my health.”
In response to the story, a spokesperson for Birmingham City Council said: “It is very unfortunate that this incident has occurred and we acknowledge that it has been an incredibly distressing time for Mr Francis.
“We have been looking to carry out repairs and maintenance on the property as a matter of urgency and had arranged appointments to do so.
“However, contractors have so far been unable to access the property.
“We have arranged another appointment with Mr Francis this week to carry out the work needed.
“The £104.50 charge is for pest control and is a standard price.
“It ensures costs are recovered as far as possible so there is no detriment to the taxpayer.
“So far, we have received no requests for pest control assistance from Mr. Francis.”
A spokesperson for Fortem added it was working with Birmingham City Council to investigate the claim.