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A mother and son were left scratching their heads when large holes kept appearing in loaves of bread – and horrified to learn rats were responsible.

Dylan Richardson returned to his family home in Maidstone for the university summer break, and bought a loaf as his mum Karen doesn’t normally keep bread in the house.

But when the 20-year-old went to make himself a slice of toast, he discovered the bottom of the loaf had been torn open and large chunks of the bread were missing.

Karen Richardson, 47, said her son accused her of eating a hole in the middle of it. When she told him she had not touched it, they wondered whether something might have happened to it before they bought it.

‘We kind of thought it was the supermarket’s fault,’ Karen said.

But when Dylan bought another ‘good loaf’ the following day and exactly the same thing happened, they began to suspect something was getting at their food.

‘I thought it was a mouse but the hole was too big,’ Karen said. ‘I knew in my head it was a rat and I couldn’t come to terms with it.’

Karen set up a small camera on the kitchen counter in the hope of finding out what was happening but to her horror discovered the following morning that something had chewed through its cable.

She then paid £120 for pest control company Rentokil to inspect the property. The survey confirmed her fears, with the inspector finding rat droppings, footprints and gnaw damage behind the fridge, as well as an active rat run in the loft and rat droppings in a nearby manhole.

Finding evidence of rats in her home immediately brought Karen back to a problem she has been battling since buying her Victorian terraced home in Tonbridge Road three years ago.

Behind her garden, a narrow alleyway separates the row of houses from properties to the rear, some of which are managed by Golding Homes.

Over the years, the passage has become filled with dumped rubbish, rubble and discarded household items, with sections so badly obstructed they are difficult to get through.

Karen says she initially believed the alleyway belonged to the council. However, after making inquiries, she was told the land belonged to the housing association.

After she repeatedly complained about its condition, Golding Homes sent contractors to clear some of the waste. They removed rubbish from behind Karen’s property, but another section of the alleyway remained covered with waste and debris.

Frustrated by the lack of progress, Karen turned to her ward councillor, Maidstone council leader Cllr Stuart Jeffery, who took up the issue with the company on her behalf.

In its response to Cllr Jeffery, Golding Homes said its contractor had stopped work because of the size of the job.

It said it had already spent ‘thousands’ on the clearance and that continuing would be service chargeable, meaning its customers would have to meet the cost.

The housing association also told him some residents had approached the contractor because they feared completely reopening the alleyway could lead to anti-social behaviour, burglaries and other safety concerns.

Access to the alleyway is from the street behind the properties, through a narrow passage running between people’s homes.

Golding Homes’ estates manager recommended leaving the alleyway as it was, saying further work would be ‘disproportionately unfair to our customers as they would be footing the bill if we were to continue’.

Cllr Jeffery was unhappy with the response and told Karen at the time: ‘It is not good enough and I have asked their CEO for a response.’

But months after the proposed review, rubbish and debris remain in the alleyway.

Cllr Jeffery said: ‘I have been trying to get Goldings to clear this for 18 months. I’ve heard nothing for quite a few weeks but I chase regularly.’

For Karen, the rubbish became even more concerning after the holes in Dylan’s bread led to the discovery that rats had got into her home.

‘A rat came out here and then it ran down the end of the alley,’ she said.

Referring to Golding Homes, she added: ‘They keep saying they’re going to do it. It’s been going on for about two years now.’

The experience has left Karen anxious in her own home, particularly at night.

‘I literally didn’t really get any sleep because I’m thinking, when’s it going to come out?’

Rentokil recommended immediate action and quoted Karen £1,328.40 for an intensive five visit trapping and baiting programme. Karen, who only works part time as a cleaner, said she could not afford the treatment and has instead bought her own traps.

‘If I literally had the money, I’d get them to do it,’ she said.

Karen believes the accumulated rubbish behind the houses is contributing to the rat problem. She also believes the alleyway was intended to provide rear access to the properties and says residents should be able to use it as an alternative way out in an emergency.

Golding Homes has now confirmed it intends to complete the clearance of the alleyway.

Genette Pinwill, executive director of customer experience at Golding Homes, said: ‘We’ve been actively working to improve the condition of the alleyway and have already completed substantial clearance work, removing a significant amount of waste, soil and debris.

‘As this work progressed, we identified a section of the alleyway that can’t be accessed using machinery because of the restricted width of the passage.

‘We’re now assessing alternative methods to complete the remaining clearance works safely and effectively.

‘The majority of the alleyway has been cleared and improved, and we’re committed to delivering a solution for the remaining section as quickly as possible.’