Mice are driving a disabled man to despair after infesting his bungalow following the death of an elderly neighbour.

Jake Tomkins, of Whitley Road in Aldbourne, says the mice had been an issue in the nearby property and blames housing provider Aster Group for not dealing with the problem.

The home is no longer heated and the mice since now taken refuge in Mr Tomkins’ property.

Mr Tomkins suffers from multiple health conditions, including a visual impairment and stage three kidney failure, and he is concerned the unhygienic conditions will put him at risk.

He said: “The extent of it is unbelievable… they’ve come through to my loft and down into my walls.

“These conditions aren’t habitable for me with my health conditions. Every time I clean the kitchen sides of mouse droppings and wee it comes back again.

“I’m living in a house with mice scratching around in the walls at night and they’re in the kitchen all the time. This isn’t right, I just need somebody to help me because it’s driving me insane.”

He added that he has been seeking help from Aster for over four weeks but has not received any.

Aster reportedly told Mr Tomkins they were unable to deal with the pest problem in Mr Tomkins’ neighbour’s house until it had been cleared, and that he would have to pay to fumigate his own house.

In the meantime, Mr Tomkins has purchased mouse traps to try and tackle the issue.

Aster claims work finally began on the neighbouring property this week, but did not comment on whether they would pay to clear the mice from Mr Tomkins’ home.

A spokesperson said: “Mr Tomkins has recently informed us he has experienced mice within his home, and we understand how distressing this has been for him.

“We have already arranged for a pest control company to carry out treatment to the neighbouring home, where we believe the issue started.

“This treatment began on Monday, March 6, and will take place while the home is temporarily empty.

“We will continue to monitor the properties closely until this issue has been resolved.”

Mr Tomkins acknowledged that tenants are usually responsible for dealing with their own pest control but argued the problem has been caused by the housing association’s failure.

He added: “I’m fully aware I live in the countryside where mice and rats are a problem, but this isn’t a normal case because they haven’t dealt with the issue in the property next door.”