![\"Peter](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1_Tower-block-tenants-swarmed-by-THOUSANDS-of-flies-unable-to-open-windows-for-weeks.jpg\")
Peter MacLoughlin has shared his anger at how he feels the infestation has been handled(Image: Sheffield Star \/ SWNS)<\/p>\nPeople who live on the top floor of the Robertshaw building in Netherthorpe, Sheffield, have been unable to open their windows for weeks due to the fly infestation<\/p>\n
06:14, 11 Oct 2025Updated 06:16, 11 Oct 2025<\/p>\n
Peter MacLoughlin has shared his anger at how he feels the infestation has been handled(Image: Sheffield Star \/ SWNS)<\/p>\n
Dozens of disgusted tower block residents<\/a> have been unable to open their windows for weeks after thousands of flies<\/a> infested their building.<\/p>\n Photographs show cluster flies<\/a> – much bigger than houseflies – buzzing around windows and inside flats on the top floor of the Robertshaw building in Netherthorpe, Sheffield<\/a>. It is thought the cluster flies travel from the Peak District to the building so they can hibernate and lay their eggs in the cladding over the winter before emerging again in the spring.<\/p>\n But the problem has become extremely challenging for the residents, with one describing it as “unbearable”. Peter MacLoughlin, 81, said: “I’m fed up of it, to be honest – it’s become unbearable. You cannot open your windows at all or they will get inside, and with no fresh air you end up living in a stuffy flat where any mistake means flies getting into your home and into your food.<\/p>\n “I cannot use fly spray because of a medical conditions I have with my chest. We left a window open by mistake last night and had to spend two hours squashing them with a damp cloth. It cannot carry on like this.”<\/p>\n READ MORE: Fruit fly invasion is driving Brits mad this Autumn – but there’s one simple way to ‘trap’ them<\/a>READ MORE: Girl bewildered after ‘crunching’ on ladybird as they swarm UK households<\/a> A council<\/a> spokesperson said a second survey to address the issue was commissioned this week, and common methods of exterminating the flies pose a risk to other wildlife.<\/p>\n But Peter, a former Sheffield cabinet member for housing, feels more can be done to help his community at the Robertshaw building. He continued: “The council has the audacity to complain about private sector landlords but are deaf to issues when it’s their own properties.<\/p>\n “The number of times I’ve complained about it only to be told it’s the job of another department, or told they can’t because of budget, or just passed from pillar to post.<\/p>\n “I’m sorry but I’ve had enough of it. If I can’t get a response or action from the council, when I’m a former cabinet member who knows the system, what about all the vulnerable people in all these flats? What hope do they have?” His ire is echoed by further residents and families, who have talked to local media.<\/p>\n The pensioner moved into Robertshaw in 1988 and says the cluster fly infestations began in the late 1990s when the block’s cladding was refurbished by the North West Inner City Action Plan (NWICAP) Single Regeneration Budget1 (SRB).<\/p>\n However, the new aluminium cladding has gaps in many places – a perfect place for the swarming pest to shelter in autumn after migrating into Sheffield from the Peak District. Then, when the weather<\/a> turns colder, they burrow into gaps and lay their eggs, which hatch in spring.<\/p>\n![\"Flies](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1760162419_927_1_Tower-block-tenants-swarmed-by-THOUSANDS-of-flies-unable-to-open-windows-for-weeks.jpg\")
Flies are seen on the windows of the Robertshaw building in Netherthorpe, Sheffield(Image: Peter MacLoughlin \/ SWNS)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1760162422_838_1_Tower-block-tenants-swarmed-by-THOUSANDS-of-flies-unable-to-open-windows-for-weeks.jpg\")
The residents have been unable to open their windows for weeks(Image: Peter MacLoughlin \/ SWNS)![\"Cluster](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1_JS384049367.jpg\")
Cluster flies are typically larger than houseflies and darker in colour<\/p>\n