Maggot and fly infestation in flats a 'biohazard'

An infestation of maggots and flies in a council-owned block of flats is a "biohazard," residents have warned.

Deborah Lowe, who lives at Blandford Court in Park North, Swindon, says maggots are "crawling out from under the indoor flooring" and flies were "swarming the main entrance" of the building.

Lowe said the council has blamed the issue on the outdoor bin area at the rear of the building, but she believed the problem stemmed from a leaking pipe or a dead animal under the floor which the insects were feeding on.

A spokesperson from Swindon Borough Council said: "We appreciate this is a recurring issue for residents and we have been taking action when it has been reported to us."

Lowe, who lives on the ground floor of the building, said the bin area was kept clean, tidy and well-maintained.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service spoke to another resident, Reanne Kerr, who lived on the top floor of the building with three young children.

She suffers from epilepsy, and keeps her children's pushchair at the bottom of the stairs, so she does not have to carry it up all the steps.

"With the maggots being there, I am having to get my neighbour to help me upstairs with the pushchair," she said.

"I have to leave it on the landing outside the room.

"There are flies everywhere – you would think that there was a dead body under the floor!"

Lowe said that pest control had come out on 14 August and 17 August but by 20 August they had already come back.

"For over three years, residents – including families and children – have been forced to walk through a biohazard daily because the council prefers to shift blame rather than fix the floor or under pipe where the main infestation is breeding from," she said.

"Tax-paying residents should not have to live in these unsanitary conditions. We are going round in circles."

A Swindon Borough Council spokesperson said action it had taken included sending pest control, repair teams and neighbourhood wardens to investigate the issue.

"We will continue to work with residents to get to the bottom of why these problems keep occurring," they added.

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