Family ‘wake up with bugs on their faces’ after battling infestation in council home for year

‘We have never lived like this before,’ 52-year-old mother says

Sharon Brookes and her husband, Alan, say their council house has been infested with bed bugs since last summer (Daily Echo/Solent News)

A family have said they are in “desperate” need of help after suffering a bed bug infestation for more than a year.

Sharon Brookes said she had woken up with bed bugs on her face, while her teenage daughter and grandson once spent months sleeping on the floor in a bid to avoid the insects.

The 52-year-old said she had tried getting rid of carpets and wallpaper but the bed bugs keep coming back.

She claimed the local council has refused to rehouse the family of four to date.

Ms Brookes, who lives with her husband, daughter and two-year-old grandson in Southampton, said she was “mortified” and “embarrassed” by the situation.

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“We have never lived like this before. We have done everything we could possibly do. We’ve had more than 10 treatments and they still keep coming back,” she said.

“We have got rid of beds, stripped the walls of wallpaper, got rid of carpets, sprayed everything. We have lost everything.”

Her family lives in a council house in the Weston area of Southampton. Ms Brookes struggles with a range of health issues and her husband, 62-year-old Alan, is also her full-time carer.

She said Southampton City Council has charged the family £375 for dealing with the issue, which started last summer.

“I have begged the council to move us out but they refuse because apparently, we could take the bugs with us,” the 52-year-old added.

She said that for three months her 19-year-old daughter and grandson slept on the floor before getting a blow-up mattress, and she slept on a sofa because they had got rid of their bed.

“We are too old for this. We can’t relax or rest,” Ms Brookes said. “I have woken up with bed bugs on my face. I have had enough of it. We just need help. It has been going on too long.”

The city council said there were reports of bed bugs across the city and they were not just found in council blocks.

A spokesperson said its housing team was working with pest control staff to support Ms Brookes and treat the infestation.

“Pest control is a tenant’s responsibility and as such a chargeable service,” they added.

“Where tenants are unable to afford the full cost of treatment, affordability assessments are completed and payment instalments considered. The cost is also subsidised for council tenants who access the service through the housing team.”

The council spokesperson said its website and pest control experts can be contacted by tenants with a pest problem.

Additional reporting by agencies