A HEREFORD family was left eating breakfast in the street after a rat ran into their front room.

Craig Bywater was getting his four children ready for school at their house at Newman Close, Newton Farm, last week when the rodent ran through the back door.

“I phoned Herefordshire Housing and Herefordshire Council to explain that my children were sat in the street eating their breakfast and that they would be late for school but both refused to send anybody,” said Mr Bywater.

“The housing association said that because I was the tenant it was my responsibility.

“Luckily a builder who was working nearby came across and killed the rat for us.”

Mr Bywater has lived in the house owned by Hereford Housing Association for the last eight years and said the problem has only started in recent months after building work meant the pulling up of bushes near to his house.

He said: “For the last three or four months we have had a problem of rats coming off the land nearby into our back garden “I have seen them on our land a number of times and the other day my wife went to put the dog out when a rat ran at her.

“And then on Wednesday one ran into the house before making its way into the front room.”

Mr Bywater added that despite numerous complaints about the rodent problems over recent months, nothing has been done.

He added: “I keep going to the housing company and the council asking them to put rat traps out.

“They say that pest control is down to the tenants but the problem wasn’t caused by me, it was caused by the council.”

In response, a Herefordshire Housing spokeswoman said that the rat came from the council’s land and that Environmental Health officers were going to look at the problem.

A council spokeswoman said that their pest control service would be visiting the property to “determine the way forward”.