A man has torn his house apart in a desperate bid to rid it of a huge rat invasion that has forced his entire family to move out.
David Hallard, 42, believes the vermin first tunnelled through his home's insulation in Pucklechurch, near Bristol in June 2022.
Since then, the creatures have destroyed the kitchen roof, left droppings all over the house, cut off the water mains, and chewed through the power supply six times.
The father-of-three has embarked on a mission to rid his home of the infestation - and has ripped apart his kitchen in a quest to remove the vermin or the entry routes.
The rats are often seen running around their garden and neighbouring gardens he says - and David said some are 'huge, the size of a small cat or rabbit'.
David Hallard (pictured) believes rats first tunnelled through his home's insulation in Pucklechurch, near Bristol in June 2022
David's house on the left with the rats coming from the light green house next door
The father-of-three has embarked on a mission to rid his home of the infestation - and has ripped apart his kitchen in a quest to remove the vermin or the entry routes
David and his wife Sacha, 34, have had to move out their three children - Lily, 13, Bobby, eight, and Darcy, four - to their grandparents.
Process engineer David said: 'Our house has become borderline uninhabitable.
'Our young children have already had to move out to live with their grandparents - it's just an absolute nightmare.
'They've tunnelled into our kitchen, destroyed the roof, chewed through our wires and have caused six separate power outages - we've already had to spend over £1,000 on pest control and electrician visits.
'The intermittent power failures and the fact our water could be contaminated - I can't believe in this day and age we're being exposed to disease and living in this way, it's a biological health hazard.'
David believes nearby dogs led to the vermin problem.
He said he first noticed rats around three months ago and complained to the landlord of a home he believes they were coming from.
He first called pest control to his house in June 2024 after hearing scratching noises coming from the ceiling and noticing rats outside.
A bout of warmer weather caused the problem to 'escalate', he said.
David said he first noticed rats around three months ago and complained to the landlord of a home he believes they were coming from
The creatures have destroyed the kitchen roof, left droppings all over the house, cut off the water mains, and chewed through the power supply six times
David first called pest control to his house in June 2024 after hearing scratching noises coming from the ceiling and noticing rats outside
The family have had to call an electrician on six separate occasions following power outages
David said: 'During the hot spell of weather last month, things escalated within a matter of days.
'The smell hit us so we called in pest control who uncovered the huge extent of the problem.'
The family have since spent more than £1,000 on pest control and electrician visits.
A worker from Pale Horse Pest Control said the infestation was one of the worst domestic invasions he had seen in decades and confirmed rats had entered their property from next door via the kitchen ceiling, David claims.
David said: 'I wish I could describe the smell to you but it's just indescribable.
'They've tunnelled through the dry board into the sewage supplies and there's just the stench of rat faeces and urine.
'We've had to collect bin bags full of rat droppings - it's just absolutely disgusting.'
The family have since spent more than £1,000 on pest control and electrician visits
The electrician has found different parts of the kitchen's power cables chewed through, David says
David has ripped the kitchen apart in a bid to find and remove all the vermin
A worker from Pale Horse Pest Control said the infestation was one of the worst domestic invasions he had seen in decades and confirmed rats had entered their property from next door via the kitchen ceiling
They have had to call an electrician on six separate occasions following power outages.
Each time, the electrician has found different parts of the kitchen's power cables chewed through, David says.
He has ripped the kitchen apart in a bid to find and remove all the vermin.
Now, David and his wife - an NHS midwife - have moved to a rental property to allow a pest control team to embark on a 12-week removal programme which will cost £500.
David said: 'It's very upsetting - us all having to move out.
'It's just so disruptive to our lives and routine.
'A lot of property is going to have to be scrapped - we're just in the process of uncovering more and more issues.
'Parts of the kitchen ceiling have been destroyed, the bathroom floor has had to be ripped up - we even had to remove the window to try to get to the source of the problem.
'It's going to take months and thousands of pounds to recover from this - we are considering selling up and moving elsewhere.'
