14-05-2025
Elderly couple reveal they have been besieged by giant rats for 10 years - while council claims there is 'no evidence of infestation'
An elderly couple have said they have been forced to live with a rat-infested garden for ten years.
Valerie Sheppard, 83, and her husband Colin, 90, have spent over a decade trying to fend the rodents off their property.
But they have slammed their council over what they say is the local authority's lack of action and claim the issue is making them 'ill'.
The couple installed four CCTV cameras, called out more pest control experts than they can remember and sent countless emails to Test Valley Borough Council asking for assistance.
They explained that the issues first started in 2014 when rodents began to appear from a broken-down car and garage next to their home.
Mrs Sheppard said: 'We first realised there was a problem back in 2014 when we saw a rat sat in the middle of our back garden path - it was there so long I was able to get my camera and take a picture before it ran off.
'Test Valley Brough Council finally came out in 2016, boarded up the garage and told us - the rats are all gone.'
In the nine years since, the couple said they been 'pushed from pillar to post' trying to get the Test Valley Borough Council to take some action against the neighbour.
They explained the issues first started in 2014 when rodents began to appear from a broken-down car and garage next to their home. Pictured: Rats found in the couple's garden
The grandmother of nine continued: 'My husband Colin is 90 and suffers from heart and lung problems - the only pleasure he gets is looking after the garden, but I fear for his health.
'This has all gone on for 11 years now - we can't go on like this.
'We are at our wits' end - the two of us have lived here for 26 years and came here for Colin's health, now I fear the garden will make us ill.
'The council have failed us - at every turn they have attempted to shift blame onto someone else and not deal with the rats.'
A council spokesperson said: 'We regret that Ms Sheppard is unhappy with our response.
'We have done all we can to respond to allegations of a rat infestation in this area multiple times since 2016.
'While there has been evidence of some level of rat activity during this time, this is not in itself evidence of an infestation in the immediate area.
'Low levels of rat activity are not unusual in and around towns and villages.
'We will continue to investigate any allegations
