Their landlord says it has found no evidence of an infestation despite their long-running complaints to the contrary
Jess and Wesley Rumble-Bear lobbying the Filton head offices of Sovereign SNG housing association in Filton, asking for help with a maggot infection at their flat in Emersons Green, Bristol(Image: Acorn Bristol)
A pregnant mum fears for the health of her young children because of a maggot and fly infestation beneath the floor of their flat. Jess Rumble-Bear said the housing association responsible for the property is refusing to take action, despite a pest controller recommending urgent intervention.
The housing association Sovereign (SNG) hit back, claiming they found no evidence of any maggot infestation when they visited, and said that the behaviour of Jess’ partner Wesley – who is the chair of the Bristol branch of tenants union ACORN – was ‘unacceptable’.
The row over what needs to be done in the flat in Emersons Green escalated this week, after the family and other ACORN members went to the offices of Sovereign in Filton to make their case. They say they found staff had been told to work from home that day to avoid the protest.
The family say they made their first complaint about rubbish being left outside, leading to maggots crawling into brick vents, back in 2017. They then reported that maggots were coming out of the skirting board of the one-bed flat back in 2020.
Over the next five years, they said they regularly reported an issue with flies and maggots, but claim no one from the housing association SNG came to investigate. Jess, who is pregnant, lives in the flat with her partner Wesley Bear, their eight-month old baby, and Jess’s teenage daughter.
Finally, at the end of July, the family reported flies were coming out of the kitchen cupboards and a pest controller visited, saying the floorboards needed to be taken up to allow investigation to find the source.
A week later, staff from SNG went to the property, but an argument developed which has now seen SNG contact the police, with what happened inside the flat disputed.
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This week, Jess, Wesley, and supporters from ACORN went to SNG’s Filton office to lobby for something to be done. “My baby is crawling through filth,” claimed Jess. “I don’t feel safe. I don’t feel heard. I’m scared every day.”
“My husband has been reporting the flies since 2020 – he’s never believed. It’s hard to watch him try so hard for us and be bashed constantly,” she added.
A spokesperson for ACORN said the couple felt ignored by SNG and that the “stench of maggots fills rooms of the flat”, adding: “The threat of sepsis carried by maggots is a constant terror for their family.”
Jess and Wesley Rumble-Bear lobbying the Filton head offices of Sovereign SNG housing association in Filton, asking for help with a maggot infection at their flat in Emersons Green, Bristol(Image: Acorn Bristol)
Wesley Bear said his family felt trapped. “We’re crammed into one room, breathing this in. I don’t know how much more we can take,” he said. “It feels like bullying. I’m sick of being stonewalled. They’re gaslighting us.
“I’ve been reporting flies and maggots since 2017 and they’ve never listened. They even fined me for fly-tipping when I chucked the maggot-infested carpet out, after maggots crawled out of the wall onto the carpet,” he added.
Things came to a head when two members of SNG finally did visit on July 31. A spokesperson for the housing association alleged one was assaulted.
“We are aware that one of our customers has reported the presence of maggots and flies in the property he shares with his family,” an SNG spokesperson said. “Our staff attended the property on Thursday, July 31 and found no evidence of the infestation, despite a thorough inspection.
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“When a member of SNG staff reported the results of the investigation to our customer, he physically assaulted one of our colleagues. This is wholly unacceptable behaviour, which we will not tolerate. This has been reported to the police,” he added.
“As a responsible landlord, we want to work with our customers to ensure that their homes are comfortable to live in and that any issues are quickly resolved. We cannot accept behaviour towards our colleagues like that displayed by the customer last week,” he said.
That version of events is disputed by ACORN, who had members present during that visit to act as witnesses. One of them, Owen, said Wesley had simply sat down by the front door to block the exit ‘in desperation’ when it became clear the SNG staff were not going to lift up the floor to investigate their claims of the infestation.
Jess and Wesley Rumble-Bear lobbying the Filton head offices of Sovereign SNG housing association in Filton, asking for help with a maggot infection at their flat in Emersons Green, Bristol(Image: Acorn Bristol)
“Sovereign’s claims are completely baseless,” Owen said. “Our member had sat in front of the door in desperation pleading with Sovereign employees to stay and witness the fly infestation for themselves after they attempted to leave the property without completing vital work that was promised,” he said.
Wesley said he was getting desperate for SNG to bring in a proper investigation team. “How many other people are going through this, or been through this, without any resolution?” he said. “What are we waiting for? Because from where I’m sitting on the mattress on our maggot-ridden floor, in a flat filled with six people sometimes and zero space, it feels like we’ve just been left behind,” he added.