Car destroyed by 'rats as big as cats' on Sheffield estate plagued by vermin
“They climb everything, they chew everything - one ran along my washing line where my laundry was drying”
A Sheffield woman says rats in her “infested” neighbourhood have written off her car by chewing through her engine wires.
The fed-up Longley residents and her neighbours told how a plague of rodents are rummaging through bins, running on washing lines and befouling gardens in Southey Close on a daily basis.
They claim council bait boxes are no longer enough to combat the issue - and they are now demanding action over a vacant house they believe is the root of the issue.
However, Sheffield City Council says it has found no evidence of any infestation at the home or the wider area, but will investigate claims.
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‘Rats wrote off my car’
One woman, who asked not to be named, told The Star: “My car was having engine faults and it smelled weird.
“I took it in for a service and they said rats had been in my engine because there was poo everywhere.
“A few days later at home my car wouldn’t start at all. When the RAC came, they said rats had chewed all my engine wires.
“And I cannot describe the smell.
“The insurers say it will probably be a write off and none of it is my fault.”
The resident says she believes troubles began around four months after a neighbour left her council house, leaving behind waste in her home and garden.
The woman said the infestation has affected all aspects of life on Southey Close.
She said: “I think they’re vile. It’s affected my mental health.
“They climb everything, they chew everything - one ran along my washing line where my laundry was drying,
“I don’t let the cats out in the garden, I can’t bring myself to go out to do the bins - I hate opening the bins in case one jumps out again.
“I can hear them rustling around in the bins at night. I hate it so much.”
Three other neighbours spoke to The Star about the rat problem.
One woman claimed rats chewed through a waste water pipe in her upstairs bathroom, flooding her home.
She said: “The council came and put two new pipes in, and the rats ate right through them again.
“The empty house across the road was absolutely full of rubbish when they left. There was stuff all over the drive.”
Another neighbour said: “I sat down in my garden one night and a rat ran out from underneath my chair into the bushes.” “I was so frightened I could have died.
“Now it’s happened to one of us, I’m scared my car will break down next.”
“It’s disgusting,” said a third woman. “I saw one rat as big as a cat.
“If my car gets chewed as well my premiums will be 10 times higher for something I didn’t do.”
A Sheffield City Council spokesperson said there was “no evidence” of an infestation centred around the vacant property but it is investigating.
They said Environmental Services “occasionally” receive reports of rats in the area but “is not currently aware of any wider rat infestation affecting the locality”.