Grandmother's horror as she finds dead mouse in her lasagne

A grandmother claims her flat has become so overrun by rodents that she found a dead mouse in a lasagne she was making – and was forced to throw away a brand new couch after it became riddled with the pests.

Tracey Jones lives in assisted accommodation run by Alpha Living in Wirral, but has seen her flat taken over by mice, and her daughter Megan has said enough is enough.

The chief executive of Alpha has said the association “acted immediately”, and sent a pest control team to the building to investigate and resolve the issue, as well as offering Tracey to temporarily relocate.

The grandmother-of-four lives alone at The Court on Kirket Lane in Bebington, which is accommodation for the over-50s, and has done so for the past 18 months.

Megan said: “My poor mum has been through hell and back this past couple of years and now she has to deal with this. I could cry I feel so sorry for her.

“Me being a protective daughter, I got so annoyed at the situation. My mum is too proud – she didn’t want me to say anything, but I have seen her in absolute tears over this on so many occasions. She’s quite a calm person but this is horrendous and it’s got too much for her.”

Megan said she had bought her mother, 57, a new sofa for Christmas, but that the family has actually had to throw it out after it was ruined by the pests.

Things came to a head on Monday, when Tracey was making dinner for herself. Returning to the oven to check on her lasagne, she was disgusted to find a mouse had somehow got into the food and died.

Megan said the incident infuriated her, and left her mother badly shaken.

A mouse believed to have been found in a lasagne Tracey was cooking

She added: “It’s quite sad, really. I just want to see her get treated with the respect she deserves. A lot of people have gone to this accommodation to spend the rest of their lives, and it looks very welcoming when you come in the front door. It’s hard to imagine the problems inside.

“It’s had a massive effect on her. She’s so depressed and she looks awful. She’s got severe anxiety and depression. For her to get up and overcome that every day is amazing, but this added extra just makes everything so much more difficult for her.

“She should be relaxing but this isn’t helping. She hasn’t even got a couch in her flat now to sit on.”

Megan said the problem has been ongoing for months, and despite informing Alpha, the family has not been able to fully resolve it.

She said: “My mum has heard noises, things scurrying about a lot in the past months, but she thought it was just her hearing.

“When she found the first droppings she reported it to Alpha, and they put down poison and traps and that was that.

“But then the mice came back, and she has since reported it numerous times. Alpha told her they have followed all the guidelines.”

Megan said the problem was not just affecting her mother’s flat, but others throughout the building. Without solving the widespread issue across multiple accommodation blocks, it would not be solved, she said.

“Some flats in the development are occupied by the over 90s, these are vulnerable people we are talking about here.”

Megan said before moving to the Bebington flats, Tracey’s previous accommodation also had problems, including damp.

Mouse droppings at the flat

Mother-of-two Megan added: “This move was supposed to be an upgrade for her, but it’s been hell.

“It’s not what you expect. You can’t control the little buggers. But it’s gone on for long enough, and someone’s got to make a stand.

“My mum doesn’t have any other options. I have offered her to stay at our house but I’ve got two young kids which can be a bit much for her.”

She said she had never in her life “seen anything like this”, and that Tracey has been staying in other units around the development in a bid to avoid seeing any more mice.

Megan added: “More worrying is there are a lot of very old people living in this building who possibly wouldn’t notice they couldn’t be living amongst mice.”

Graeme Foster, chief executive at Alpha Living, said: “The Court is surrounded by beautiful landscaped grounds which make it a popular development with our residents. However, such grounds do attract wildlife and in March of this year two adjoining flats in the development reported seeing a mouse.

“Alpha immediately called in Wirral Council’s pest control team who dealt with the issue and in April gave the development the all clear.

“Over the May Bank Holiday weekend we received a report of a mouse in a flat in the development. We have acted immediately and today a pest control team have been to the building to investigate and resolve the issue. They and we will also meet with residents from the development to discuss how they can help deter mice from homes.

“At Alpha Living the happiness and wellbeing of our residents is our number one priority. We’ve offered to temporarily relocate the person affected either into another flat within the same development or to a nearby development.

“We will be working closely with the pest control team to identify any locations whereby mice can enter the property and will replace the wooden doors at the development with plastic doors to help deter them from entering the development.

“We’d urge any of our residents or their families with questions to get in touch.”