A DISTRESSED mum said she has been rendered effectively homeless by rats which are causing her autistic son to have nightmares.

Chantelle Smith said she and her four children have been sleeping on an air bed on her mother's floor for the past month due to rats in her home and has slammed Platform Housing for 'failing to do anything to resolve the situation.'

She said her brother first discovered the rats in the kitchen sink cupboard of her Elgar Avenue home a month ago after he heard scratching in the cupboard.

She added pest control arrived to put something down to help get rid of the rats but removed it two weeks later.

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Miss Smith, who turns 28 on Friday, said she has contacted Platform Housing but they won't do anything to help.

The housing association said it would be liaising with the family directly.

Miss Smith added she has tried to get into temporary accommodation but claimed Platform Housing effectively blocked it as it deemed her house was suitable for living in. 

Miss Smith's four children, three girls and a boy who are aged between two and nine years old, have not set foot back in their home for four weeks. 

She told the Gazette: "There were rats in the attic as well as the kitchen cupboard and they had left a mess there- my home smells like a sewer. 

"It has completely turned my four kids' lives upside down and has placed a lot of stress on my life. 

"My son, who is autistic, has been completely put out of his routine and he is struggling to sleep and keeps having nightmares about rats. 

"It has completely turned his lifestyle around and has put him under stress as he knows he isn't going back to his home every day.

"The way Platform is handling this situation is not right at all. 

"When I contacted Platform I was told my housing officer was on annual leave but why could no one else pick my case up?

"This is no way to live at all, I don't want my children to go back into a house with rats in, it's just not safe."

Marion Duffy, Chief Operations Officer at Platform Housing Group said: “We are sorry to hear of our customer’s concerns and continue to deal directly with the family to resolve the issues.”