A DAD has refused to pay his council tax after his back garden was invaded by rats.
Lee, 41, has said that his disabled son cannot play outbecause the garden was teeming with rats and vermin poo.
Lee claims "40 bags of rotting food" were dumped in an alleyway, which brought the rats into his Grimsby garden.
Lee is now refusing to pay his council tax after claiming the local authority failed to come out and clear the rubbish from the alleyway.
But a spokesman for North East Lincolnshire Council said the alleyway was private property and that the local authority was not responsible for clearing it.
But Lee argued that the local authority successfully prosecuted the person responsible for dumping the food in the alleyway, which suggested they were responsible for the area.
He said in the end he paid out £100 for someone to come out and clear away the bags of rotting food.
The dad-of-one, speaking to Grimsby Live, said:"The person who was doing it admitted to it, they were fined and prosecuted for it, but then the council hasn't made her take the rubbish away and they've not taken it away themselves."
Lee said that the rats had resulted in misery for his son, who suffered from a heart condition.
He said: "The rats are all on my little boy's toys, he can't play in the garden at the minute because they're messing on my grass, so I had to take it into my own hands and it's cost me £100 for my brother in law to come and take [the waste].
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"It's coming up to summer and my little boy loves playing in the garden but until that rubbish was cleared and until we can get rid of the rats, he's not allowed.
"They've been all over his footballs, we have had to clean all his toys and balls and make sure they're all clean before we can go back in the garden.
"One of his favourite places to play is in the garden."
Lee said at one point the waste was piled so high that it blocked the exit from the alleyway.
According to the 'Alleyways' page on the NELC website, council workers can only intervene in the clearance of alleyways "if the waste is a public health issue or if it restricts access for a disabled person".
A North East Lincolnshire Council spokesman said: “Alleyways are private property and the council is not responsible for clearing them.
"They belong to the houses that back onto them and the property owners share responsibility for keeping them clean.
“Whilst we sympathise with households who live next to alleyways that are blighted by fly-tipping, it’s not the council’s job to clear them.”
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