'Frightened to open the door': Wolverhampton residents 'barricaded' in by fly infestation
Residents living in a block of flats in Wolverhampton are "frightened to open the front door" as a result of an infestation of flies.
Those living in Vauxhall House, which is part of the Vauxhall Estate, first noticed the problem last week, with flies said to be gathering on the ceiling in the corridor leading up to the rubbish chute.
The flies have reportedly been spotted on the fourth, fifth and sixth floors of the building, with residents now said to be feeling as though they are "barricaded" in their homes as a result.
Martin Cartwright, who chairs the Vauxhall Residents Association, said: "Last Wednesday morning, one of the residents who is an 88-year-old woman came out of her front door to put some rubbish down the rubbish chute and the whole ceiling on the corridor was covered with flies.
"They started spraying them and without a word of a lie, there must have been a couple hundred of them on the floor and they were still coming – this has been the cycle of things day-to-day.
"It's not pleasant for the residents in the block, they are virtually barricaded in their own homes because they are frightened to open the front door."
May Poyner has been living at Vauxhall House for around 60 years, having first moved into the building shortly after it was built.
The 88-year-old added: "We can't live like this, we can't, its absolutely ridiculous. The spray that we've been using we've had to use so much that two of us on the floor have had sore throats, and yesterday morning my little budgie was violently sick – he's alright now, but I was more worried about him than the flies in the end.
She added: "The first time I saw it, I came out of my door early morning, about 8am, and I went to put my bit of rubbish down the chute and something went around my head.
"I looked up to knock away whatever it was and the ceiling wasn't white as it is at the moment, it was black, it was absolutely full – you couldn't see any white on the ceiling. This can't go on."
After receiving reports from residents, Wolverhampton Homes, which manages housing on behalf of Wolverhampton Council, has sent a pest control contractor to the site in an effort to improve conditions.
A spokeswoman for Wolverhampton Homes, said: "Following receipt of a report of flies at one of our blocks at the Vauxhall estate, we visited a block on Monday, July 10, with a pest control contractor.
"The contractor confirmed that there is no pest issue within communal areas of the block. Where there are any individual properties affected, we will be working with residents as required to support a resolution to any outstanding issues."
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