AN INFESTATION of flying ants has left a disabled Weymouth woman too terrified to sleep in her own bed.

Barbara Hovard said the swarm of insects in her bedroom was like something out of a horror film.

The housebound grandmother claims that she was laughed at by a staff member from Synergy Housing when she rang to report the issue.

“I went into my bedroom one afternoon and loads of them had come in.

“There were millions of babies, it was like a big black ball.

“I tried to kill them by hand but they kept on coming,” she said.

Mrs Hovard, 62, suffers from a number of health conditions, including blood clots in her legs and asthma. She has only been outside twice this year because she is dependent on an oxygen tank.

She said: “When I get upset I end up in hospital because sometimes I can’t breathe.

“I burst out crying because the ants were all over the place and all over my bed and all over the floor – this sea of black.

“It was like something out of a horror film.”

Mrs Hovard, who lives alone, called in neighbours and friends to help her put powder down and spray her bedroom.

She believes the ants originated from a cavity in the bedroom wall.

She clains that when she called Synergy, her landlord, the person on the phone laughed at her.

“When I was laughed at I thought ‘why don’t you come here and see this?’ It broke my heart.

“I don’t know how long it’s going to take me to go back into my bedroom and sleep in my bed,” she said.

At the moment, Mrs Hovard is sleeping in a reclining chair in her living room. She says most of the flying ants are dead but fears more will come back.

She said she was told by Synergy that there would be a £72 charge for a pest control service.

“I’ve been told to sleep in my bed because my legs have swollen up but I can’t sleep in there. I just want to be taken seriously,” she said.

A Synergy spokeswoman said an external pest control contractor was due to visit Mrs Hovard and there would not be a £72 charge.

She added: “The housing team were very empathetic with the woman in question.

“Her housing officer is going to be looking into it.”