A mother of five, who lives on the Aylesbury Estate, says she found cockroaches in her kids’ cereal and even a dead mouse, as she recounts nine years of nightmare infestations.
Fatmata Koroma, 34, said the nightmare began shortly after she moved into her Taplow block residence in 2014.
According to her, “There were always cockroach infestations and mice, especially in winter when they’re looking for somewhere warm to nest.”
With five young children, Fatmata added: “The kids are so scared – they sleep in my bed most nights.”
Despite being the one speaking out, she claims the problem is not limited to her home but affects the entire Taplow block.
Fatmata explained that pest control efforts initiated by the council consistently fail to provide any lasting solution. “They don’t treat the whole block, so the pests keep coming back.”
“I keep finding cockroaches everywhere – all over the beds every day. They’re even in my kids’ cereal. I recently found a dead mouse in there too.
“I’m so tired of this.”
Last year, she told us a mouse chewed through an electric cooker cable, sparking a fire in their home.
She said the issues don’t stop there: “We have also had a lot of problems with the boiler. We had no heating the whole winter last year.”
“The engineers refused to come and fix the heating whilst there were infestations.”
In addition to this, the conditions have resulted in financial strain for the single mother.
In 2019, Fatmata was taken to court by Southwark Council due to rent arrears.
On this, she explained the infestation problem has led to her having to replace lots of items in the home and heat it when there were issues with the boiler: “It gets very expensive.”
Despite a court ruling in her favour, with the council being ordered to pay her compensation and do repairs, she told us the conditions have not significantly improved.
As a part-time NHS maternity support worker, Fatmata said she’s anxious about potentially carrying cockroach eggs into her workplace and said she is on anti-depressants due to the stress.
The Aylesbury Estate is currently undergoing a regeneration project, with some blocks already rebuilt. However, Fatmata’s block falls under phase three, and there is uncertainty about when the necessary renovations will begin.
Fatmata said: “It seems like the council has just neglected the estate because they know it’s going to be knocked down.”
This prolonged wait exacerbates the family’s suffering, leaving them in a state of dread, ‘especially with winter approaching,’ Fatmata commented.
“How long do they expect us to live in these conditions,” she said.
Fatmata highlighted the difficulty of getting comprehensive treatment – which involves spraying the whole house – due to the presence of her children: “The pest control officers have always refused to do it before.”
However, since the story went public last week, she said the council finally allowed a full treatment.
We asked the council why it had taken so long to sort out.
Cllr Stephanie Cryan, cabinet member for homes, communities and finance, said: “It is not acceptable for anyone to have to live with pests inside their property, and the footage taken by the tenant is horrifying.
“We do all that we can to prevent pests on Aylesbury Estate with regular treatments of both the whole blocks and individual flats when needed.
“Both housing and pest control officers are on site on the estate almost every day and I am sorry if we have not responded quickly enough to the tenant about this matter on this occasion.
“We will treat the tenant’s property as a matter of urgency, which we hope will resolve the problem.”
While they claim regular pest control is conducted in communal areas, Fatmata disputes this, stating it hasn’t happened since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, Fatmata is currently on the bidding list to move, as she desperately tries to find a place of safety for her family.