A retired nurse from Ealing, who claims she is not able to go into her garden without rats coming after her, has called for the owners of an abandon house next door to take "responsibility" for their property.

Maureen Davis, 64, of Harold Road, part of the Wesley Estate, wants the owners of an empty house next door to her, which she said was overrun by rodents and rubbish, to come forward and sort out the property.

The house, according to Mrs Davis, was sold nine months ago at auction for £597,000, but has not been touched for six years since an elderly lady who then owned the property lived there.

The retired nurse, who has lived in her house for 35 years with her husband David, 67, said: "We need to find out who this house belongs to."

An abandon house on Harold Road in Ealing

"I would like them to be responsible for their house," Davis added.

"The owners have come no where near [the property]. We are talking about nine months now.

"It is just disgusting.

"The front has all over grown on to the path.

"I stopped a bloke four months ago from dumping his waste there.

"There's mattresses and a lot of muck just in the front.

"When my grandchildren come round we put the bouncy castle out and the rats come out and the kids scream.

"I want to be in my own garden without any rats coming after me or coming out of the fence.

"We are dreading the day they come to fix the house because where are the rats going to run to? Our house."

Maureen criticised the council for not doing enough to deal with the situation.

She said: "I have been onto Ealing council and MPs, they don't do anything.

Maureen Davis called for the owners to take 'responsibility'

"I have had a bloke from Ealing council come and take pictures of it and he said he would find out who owns it but he never did."

Ealing council has since promised to tackle the issue of vermin, cut back overgrowth and prevent problems in the future.

A council spokesman said: “We have apologised to Mrs Davis for our failure to follow up on our earlier visit to the property and have contacted her to advise on actions the we will be taking next.

“We have also been in contact with the owner who is providing access to the property.

"This will allow us to cut back the overgrowth, deal with any vermin, and take action to ensure any nuisance is avoided in the future for neighbours and the local community.”

Elsewhere in west London, other communities have also had problems with vermin.

A video showing a large group of rats jumping in and out of rubbish bags dumped on a street in Harrow has been shared on Facebook.

Video shows rats invading rubbish bags in Harrow:

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The video was initially shared on #Fixit Harrow Network Facebook group and shows at least 10 rats rummaging in bin bags on Greenhill Way in Harrow, jumping into the bags from a wall.

The video was shared on social media on Friday July 21 and a barrage of comments ensued.

In response to the footage, Councillor Graham Henson, Harrow's cabinet member for environment, said: "This is a huge problem that we are addressing urgently."

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