Residents of a Croydon block claim they are being forced to live around rats and bugs from the rubbish that neighbouring residents dump around their flats.

Luke Lautier said that back in May, rubbish had been dumped outside his New Addington flat because the community door had been broken.

(Image: Luke Lautier)Luke lives with his elderly, disabled mother at Walton Green, and for nearly five months, they and their neighbours have had to live with this ongoing situation.

The 28-year-old mechanic told Your Local Guardian: “The front community door has been broken now for around 15 months.

“And around four months ago, a large quantity of rubbish had been dumped around the flat.

“And since then, people come to the flat at night and just dump their rubbish there.”

Luke claims that he and other residents have reported this issue to Croydon Council multiple times but to no avail.

(Image: Luke Lautier)

He added: “There’s all sorts of stuff here now, everything from carpets to furniture to sofas.

“This has been reported by me with 15 back-and-forth emails to the council reporting the issue.

“One of our neighbours is also on the council committee and he’s been reporting it, but he’s not had any joy either.

“So, we’ve just been reporting and reporting it, and we’ve been told from week to week that the council are going to come and collect it.

“But they never do.”

Luke said the environment that he and the residents are living in is a health and safety hazard.

He said: “With all the rubbish around the flat, there’s rats present and all sorts of different bugs and flies flying around the door.

“It really is disgusting.”

Luke shares the block of flats with other elderly residents and young children and says all it takes is for someone to fall over “for the situation to become ten times worse”.

Bulk collection day, where a service removes large items that are too big for regular refuse collection, is on Tuesday and Friday for the residents at Luke’s block.

Luke claims to have spoken to the bulk collection team, who assure him that they will come and collect the rubbish on a Friday.

(Image: Luke Lautier)

However, he said that they never turn up, adding that “they turn up in the area, but they just don’t bother coming into our own block”.

Luke claims he has spoken to the General Manufacturer on the Croydon Council Committee who assured him that the rubbish isn’t from his neighbours.

Luke said: “I think it is just people who see the community door broken and they come in and dump the rubbish and leave without any consideration for us.”

Luke’s mum uses a mobility scooter to get around, but Luke says that living in that kind of environment is affecting her “in the worst way.”

He explained: “The only kind of fresh air that she could get is when she goes outside toward the back of the building where there’s a communal area where she can sit out and move around on her mobility scooter.

“But now with all the rubbish out there, she can’t get out on her own because she’s scared of hurting herself.

“She gets no fresh air whatsoever.

“Summer is nearly over, and she spent the last four months indoors because she’s scared to go out in case she falls over.

“It’s really unfair for us and the residents to live in this kind of environment.”

A spokesperson for Croydon Council said: “The council is dealing with an issue of dumped rubbish and bulky items being left at this address in Walton Green, and we have increased our cleaning inspections to ensure the area is kept clean.

“We have carried out several repairs for the communal door and have arranged for a full overhaul to check it is in good working order.

“Our caretaking team will report any fly-tipping, so collections of rubbish can be arranged, and the type of items being left can be monitored. 

“If we find evidence of the people responsible when we clear away dumped waste, we will take appropriate enforcement action and seek the highest penalties against offenders.”

The Council encourages those who have seen dumped waste in the borough to report it to the Love Clean Streets app.