Residents of a sheltered housing complex near the Barbican are being plagued by mosquitoes.

They are so fed with the critters that samples of the flying pests have been sent away to Government labs at Porton Down for testing.

The insects which bothered people living at Tudor Rose Court were dispatched to Public Health England’s Medical Entomology & Zoonoses Ecology Emergency Response Department (MEZE) to identify them.

People from the four-storey block of flats in Fann Street raised the issue with their landlord the City of London in May 2017 and again in November.

The lab suggested the insects could be the “so-called London Underground mosquito” which breeds in dark, underground spaces and bites people. However it said it was “ill-equipped” to do molecular testing to be sure.

The building manager at the flats could not find any potential breeding site for the mosquitos there. Council officers thought “it was extremely unlikely that mosquitos generally were breeding above ground in either of the two ponds in the Barbican Wildlife Garden” close by, according to a council report.

They also said there were no potential London Underground shafts of vents for the mosquitoes to breed in.

However residents raised the issue again at their annual wardmote, or ward meeting, in March.

They said they were “sorely troubled by being bitten by mosquitoes. These creatures are a health hazard, as well as a serious nuisance.” They called on the corporation to tackle the problem.

Guaranteed to ruin anyone's summer

The City of London’s port health and environmental services committee asked staff to investigate again.

Jon Averns, the City’s public protection director, told councillors his team caught seven mosquitoes over 72 hours for testing.

Drainage systems outside light wells at the 35-flat block have been jet washed out, the committee heard. This tackled any blocked drainage points which “were a cause for concern” as a potential place for mosquitoes to breed.

Tudor Rose Court sheltered housing near to Barbican
Tudor Rose Court sheltered housing near to Barbican

Investigators put a mosquito trap in the Barbican Wildlife Garden beside the flats to see if it the source of the problem. It has two ponds and “it has been allowed to grow naturally and although not common, it is thought that there may be sufficient foliage cover over some areas of stagnant water to provide a breeding site,” the council report said.

Committee chairman Jeremy Simons said there would be more details when a report comes back from Porton Down.