VULNERABLE youngsters were forced out of their sheltered homes for a month after rats infested a Winchester housing block.

Five tenants were evacuated from Westgate Place as the stench of dead rodents found in vents coursed through their flats.

Among them were three women as young as 18, who were put up in Winnall’s Premier Inn hotel for a month while pest controllers cleared the building in Sussex Street. Another woman, 17 weeks pregnant, has been moved after a rat was seen in her home next door.

One neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: “They had to seal all the vents up because the smell of the dead rats was coming into all the rooms. It absolutely stank. It was disgusting.”

It took more than a week for pest control to come, she said, adding staff were “hardly ever in” to address residents’ concerns.

Westgate Place, run by not-for-profit A2Dominion, provides shelter and support for vulnerable people aged 16 to 21, with many residents coming from difficult backgrounds.

Pam Vasir, A2Dominion’s group director of supported housing, apologised for the disruption.

She said: “While we arranged for pest control to investigate and address the issue, we offered alternative accommodation for the residents in the city and covered the costs of their daily meals, travel and internet usage.

“We believe the problem may have been linked to nearby drainage systems, and have been in close contact with Winchester City Council while they inspect external pipework to prevent further issues.”

A spokesman for the council, which runs 84-86 Sussex Street, said drains in both blocks have been laid with precautionary traps.

It comes weeks after fears that rats at nearby Winchester Railway Station could pose a health threat to commuters.

Resident Raymond Marsh, of Courtenay Road, speaking last month, said the large vermin were “multiplying at an enormous rate”.

Winchester City Council tackled 656 rat infestations in the year to April 2014, down almost half on the previous year, according to British Pest Control Association figures.