Mum sleeping in living room with two children after rats invade their home

A mum has been forced to sleep in her living room with her two young children due to fears of rats in their walls and ceiling.

Becky Flattery has lived in a Livv Housing Group flat on Oxford Road, Huyton, for five years – and in that time the communal garden has been plagued by a vermin infestation. The 30-year-old told the ECHO the communal spaces are meant to be maintained by Livv Housing.

But the outdoor space is overgrown and covered in dangerous holes – and vermin now live in the garden and inside the flats. Becky, who is mum to George, three, and Holly, two, told the ECHO: “I am on the top floor and you can hear them in my ceiling in the loft.

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“They started above my room but you can hear them in the children’s bedroom and living room now. You can also hear them knocking about in the walls. We’ve brought a mattress into the living room and we all sleep in here now. The children just won’t settle otherwise. They’re scared by the noises in the ceiling.”

The mum-of-two said all residents pay for the communal area to be looked after by the housing association. But the grass has not been cut for months and dog mess covers the ground. Becky said the garden is controlled by rats during the day and she dreads to think what it is like at night.

Becky Flattery with her son George, 3, and daughter Holly,2(Image: Liverpool Echo)

Becky branded the garden as a “pig sty” and called the mess outside “horrendous”. She told the ECHO the outdoor area is covered in holes with exposed pipes. Video footage sent to this paper showed broken barriers and slabs of damaged concrete surrounding at least three large holes.