A BOURNEMOUTH man has been waking up to critters ‘crawling all over him’ following a bed bug outbreak at his housing block.
Paul Arnold finds himself ‘instantly itching’ and with blood on his mattress from where the bed bugs have bitten him.
The 74-year-old said: “There were about 30 of them in my bed sheets one morning.
“I’m finding my friends and family don’t want to come and visit me because they know there’s bugs here.”
Paul, who has Parkinson's Disease, lives alone at his flat in Kingsley House in Coronation Avenue, Bournemouth.
The housing block, which is owned by Aster Group, is already being treated for bed bugs following complaints from other residents.
The Daily Echo spoke to two residents back in May who claimed Kingsley House had suffered outbreaks for “nearly three years”.
While Paul’s room is now being sprayed weekly by a pest control contractor, his sister, Christine Evans, says the problem is only worsening.
She added that Aster Group needed to “do more” and try alternative treatment methods.
Christine told the Daily Echo: “I rang Paul the other day and he said he hadn’t slept at night because the bugs were crawling all over him.
“He moved there in October, and I’ve bought him two new beds since then. It’s got so bad now.
“People need to know what Paul is going through. He doesn’t deserve it. It’s just disgraceful.”
Aster Group says it has been “working closely” with a specialist pest control company on the bed bug problem and has completed recommended heat treatments at Kingsley Court.
It added it had restricted the use of communal areas at the housing block to reduce the spread.
A spokesperson for the company said: “We remain committed to doing everything we can to help bring the issue under control and we share the concerns customers have about bed bugs at Kingsley House.
“We continue to work with our pest control contractor to adapt our approach where required.
“We hope that this can make a real difference, as we understand the continued presence of bed bugs is causing frustration.”
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