Resident and former resident at Bury St Edmunds flats in Vinefields speak of ‘months of hell’ amid mouse infestation

Residents of mice-infested flats in Bury St Edmunds have spoken of ‘months of hell’ with vermin running through their homes.

Havebury Housing Partnership, which manages the flats in Vinefields, off Eastgate Street, has come under fire for delays in tackling the pests.

One resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said the mice had become a major problem – to the extent she had found dead mice inside her flat numerous times.

She criticised Havebury’s response to the infestation and called for answers.

“They [Havebury] should be dealing with this. It literally has been three months of hell,” she said. “Nobody seems to want to do anything, or listen, or give us answers, or give us a concrete timeline.”

Residents had found holes they believed the mice were using to get inside the flats – however, they said no action had been taken to block them.

Some tenants were given plastic boxes to help protect their food, but the anonymous resident said she was not at home when these were distributed and there had been no follow-up from Havebury.

As a result, she has been left with no means to protect her food from vermin.

Meanwhile, she said the infestation had become so bad that she was reluctant to invite visitors to her home.

Jack Kearney, who recently moved out of the Vinefields, also condemned Havebury’s response.

He said “The place is still riddled with mice, but Havebury are refusing to seal the property off or do anything with it.

“When I was living there, a mouse ran over my foot at one point. Another time, I found a mouse dead on the bedroom floor – and this is in my otherwise clean flat, with a cat.”

A spokesperson for Havebury Housing Partnership said: "We’re working with partner agencies and pest control to resolve this problem and are sorry it has taken longer than we hoped.

"Since we were made aware, our teams have been in regular contact and visited the affected residents on a weekly basis, offering them support and advice. We thank them for their co-operation in what we appreciate are difficult circumstances.

"Working with our specialist contractors, we have found what we believe to be the entry point and have implemented an action plan that, we hope, will eradicate the issue fully and create a permanent resolution.”