Fuming tenant said she can’t sleep in her bed due to cockroach infestation

A pensioner says she was horrified to wake up to cockroaches “crawling all over” in her bed, fearing she would be forced to spend Christmas with the pests.

For Karen Barrett, the relentless infestation in her Great Barr council flat in Birmingham has made her life unbearable, especially as she also struggle with bronchitis and fibromyalgia. 

The 65-year-old claims the cockroaches were stopping her sleeping or cooking and left her relion on takeaway meals. 

She told BirminghamLive: “I tried to lie down last night for an hour, and I woke up in the night and they were crawling all over me. I haven’t got anywhere to sleep, I’m in a little tiny flat and I’ve got a two seater settee.”

“I can’t cook anything because they’re in the kitchen area. People have been bringing me takeaways. I’m in a really bad place. I feel like going and walking and jumping in the lake at the moment.”

She complained to her housing officer a week ago after spotting the infestation. However, she said she has not yet found a solution and was considering paying £161 for pest control – but that would mean sacrificing her “Christmas money”. 

She said: “I complained to my housing officer a week ago that I’ve got cockroaches.

“They’re not doing anything about it, they’re dragging their feet. They said they’d fumigate my flat but there’s no point until they get to the bottom of the problem upstairs.

“Nothing’s being done. I just want the problem sorted out.” Birmingham City Council apologised to Karen as it said plans were in place to treat the infestation.

A statement from the council said: “We are sorry Karen is experiencing issues with infestation. Plans are in place for the property to be treated this week, and an inspection has now been carried out on the property above.

“The inspection found no infestation in the property above Karen’s. We will arrange a follow-up visit in a few weeks to check for signs of infestation.”