Elderly couple suing Southwark council over five-year bed bug infestation

By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter

An elderly couple are taking a council to court over bed bugs which bite them while asleep.

Teresa Lloyd, 59, and her chronically ill husband David, 72, are demanding Southwark council pays them compensation over the five-year infestation at their home.

They claim the pests are hiding in the building’s electrical sockets and piping, which they say is the council’s responsibility to sort out as their landlord and the tower block’s owner.

Mrs Lloyd claims she has spent hundreds of pounds on pest control companies to fumigate the flat herself. But, despite her best efforts, the bedbugs keep returning.

The couple now want the council to compensate them for the hassle caused by their battle with the bugs and to reimburse them the money they’ve had to shell out on the problem themselves.

Mrs Lloyd said: “They’re only tiny but they can give quite a bite. It’s serious. You can sense it – you want to scratch your feet and legs.

“My husband has been bitten the most, especially on his legs and lower body. He suffers from hypertension and has to take medication. It doesn’t help at all. I’ve been bitten, too – it tends to be at night.

“The council sent someone to treat the flat this week, but in previous years I’ve had to pay for a private pest control company to come out and fumigate the flat. It cost £695 and that’s before VAT.”

The couple, who have lived in the fourth floor flat in Borough for 22 years, want the council to carry out a full inspection of the tower block in Lant Street.

They fear the bedbugs will continue to return, until the root of the infestation is discovered.

Mrs Lloyd said: “They [the bed bugs] can get into the pipes and the full building needs checking and treating. They’ll just keep returning if they’re in other homes.

“We know there are people living in overcrowded conditions in some flats in the block. If we’ve got the bedbugs, other people will. We used to know neighbours with the same problems, but they’ve since moved out.”

She added: “We shouldn’t have to put up with bedbugs, nobody should. Our bedroom is quite nice and we’ve got nice wallpaper. We do our best to keep it clean and pretty. It could be a lovely home if it wasn’t for the bugs.”

Mrs Lloyd and her husband hope their legal battle with the council will eventually bring a solution to the problem which has blighted their lives for years. They have an initial court date set for March this year.

Southwark Councillor Darren Merrill said: “I can confirm that this is a legal case that we are aware of, and dealing with. I hope we soon reach a resolution.”

Teresa Lloyd is taking Southwark council to court over a five-year bedbug infestation in her Borough flat (Picture: Facundo Arrizabalaga)