Pimlico estate overrun by rats, says despairing dad
By Hannah Neary, Local Democracy Reporter
A dad living on a rat-infested estate says the problem is so bad now that the rodents are leaping out of communal bins and dead ones are appearing in a kids’ playground.
Pimlico resident Kevin Kelly is embarrassed to invite friends round for dinner because he’s been stuck living next to foul-smelling bins swarming with rats for nearly a decade.
He said he is seeing rats every day at Lillington and Longmoore Estate, which is managed by Westminster City council.
Mr Kelly said there have been issues with rats on the estate for about eight years and he’s been constantly reporting the problem to councillors but nothing has been done to sort them.
He said: “We’ve been having to put up with this for many, many years. The rats are coming out in their 20s and 30s.
“Over the past month or so I’ve been seeing them on a daily basis. I can’t put the rubbish in the recycling bins because I can hear them scratching and crawling inside them. I have opened the bins before and they have actually jumped out.”
Mr Kelly, who has lived on the estate for 40 years, said he often sees people urinating and defecating near the bins and suspects non-residents also use them to dump rotten food waste.
He also claims bin men often refuse to empty the bins because they are so filthy, blaming the residents for not recycling properly. He said he won’t eat outside with his family in the summer because the smell is so bad and it’s affecting the time he spends with his grandkids.
“It’s right next to a children’s playground,” he said. “We are finding dead rats in the playground.
“It’s a constant thing that’s happening. I can’t even let my granddaughters look over the balcony because we are seeing men urinating and defecating over the recycling bins.
“I have to look out my window at that everyday. It’s so embarrassing because I can’t have friends up because it’s just so disgusting. “It’s a built up residential area, it shouldn’t be happening.
“The smell is so strong I can’t even use the balcony.” Westminster City Council was contacted for comment at the time of going to press.
Pictured top: The neglected estate which has spawned the rat infestation (Picture: Kevin Kelly)