A STUDENT says she was forced to leave university over a disgusting cockroach infestation at her halls and is now thousands of pounds out of pocket and worried about her future.
Rebecca Skeet enrolled in a course at the University of Worcester last September but by Christmas had taken the difficult decision to leave, partly because of a cockroach infestation at her hall of residence.
The 18-year-old, who has now returned home to Norwich, raised her concerns about the insects in Evesham Hall of Residence in St John's Campus in Worcester with the university last October but felt she was not getting anywhere.
Emails were also sent by her to the accommodation team last November when they requested photographs of the cockroaches and Miss Skeet received assurances the 'pest controller attended today'.
However, Miss Skeet, who is still in touch with her former housemates, says the insects are still there and the university has confirmed a further report of cockroaches on the premises has been received this month.
The former social work student first noticed the pests about three weeks into her stay at the halls of residence (she arrived on September 16), one of 10 other students living there.
The inspects were spotted behind the glass in the cooker and crawling out from under the fridge.
"We had issues with the accommodation, with toilets overflowing and our flat got broken into. When we saw the cockroaches we were very shocked and emailed accommodation straight away.
"Initially one of my housemates said he saw a cockroach by the fridge. We didn't believe him. Then we saw one by the cooker. That's when we said 'right, we have a problem' and we emailed them again.
"None of us wanted to cook. We were very paranoid about the cleanliness of it. We were trying to do a deep clean of the kitchen, hoovering and mopping the floor. I cleaned out the fridge twice. We got told cleaners would be coming in regularly but they weren't turning up at all. I also emailed about that. I feel appalled and let down."
She left the University of Worcester on December 23, returning only to collect her belongings.
"I have now lost a year of my studies", said Miss Skeet. She estimates her time in Worcester will cost her around £5,400 for the course and the accommodation.
Miss Skeet and others also bought cleaning products and had to throw away food because of the infestation.
She added: "It's thrown all my goals and future ideas pretty much out of the equation. I came home with massive anxiety of even going back to university and I couldn't talk to anyone in the family about it as I thought it would let them down as I've never quit or just dropped out of something that big of a deal.
"I have no idea how I'm going to get into social work as there is extremely limited positions for apprenticeships and dropping out of university has impacted on how I look when applying for the apprenticeships."
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Her 42-year-old mother Laura Atterwell said: "They were seeing about three cockroaches per day. They were big cockroaches. The support was appalling for these young people.
"She was so excited to go to Worcester university - before I went to view with her, she had already done a previous open day with her father. She had returned excited, telling us about how friendly and warm it was, how the social work course sounded really good and supportive and out of three other universities she had viewed in different parts of the country, this one she felt comfortable at.
"The decision to not return for Rebecca was an extremely hard one, she was leaving a course she is passionate about having completed health and social care level 3 at Norwich City College.
"She had made some very tight friendships in the few months she had been there. Also as a young person, the excitement for what her university experience was going to be like was completely ruined."
They believe the seat of the infestation was a cooker, installed as a temporary measure when the door on the old one broke.
A spokesperson for the University of Worcester said: "An issue was raised by students in October 2023 regarding the sighting of a cockroach in their flat.
"Accommodation staff promptly inspected the property and although they could not find any evidence of a cockroach a professional pest control contractor was immediately engaged.
"The contractor visited the property four times to treat and monitor the flat. The Accommodation team also undertook a deep clean of all the kitchens in the block.
"The contractor confirmed that there were no cockroaches in the flat and the situation was resolved.
"A further concern was raised in February, which is being investigated."
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