A disgruntled Swindon resident was left furious after discovering that his toilet pipe had been chewed through by rats several times.

Pratik Rai, 34, first discovered a problem with his father’s Sherwood Road property at Christmas time when using the toilet.

But after replacing the pipe, he noticed the pests had eaten through the pipe again.

He's spent around £250 trying to repair the issue.

“The water was leaking from the other side whenever the toilet was flushed,” Pratik said of the issue.

“When I looked at the PVC pipe that connects the pan to the soil pipe, I noticed it had been eaten with lots of holes and bite marks.”

At first this issue did not suggest that the problem was pest-related to Pratik, who was looking after the house while his parents were on holiday in Nepal.

“The first time that it happened it was a small hole so I replaced the pipe as I though it was simply cracked,” he said.

“I had to remove the whole toilet unit out to install the pipe and there was no sign of rodents at that point.”

Swindon Advertiser: The pipes all had bite marks which grew in size with each replacement.The pipes all had bite marks which grew in size with each replacement. (Image: Pratik Rai)

Despite Pratik fixing the issue, it was to his horror that he discovered that the mysterious leak had returned mere days after.

“I fixed it but the leak was there again and the water had leaked down to the kitchen, meaning I had to replace the light as well,” he said.

“The replaced pipe had been eaten badly so I changed it one last time but the bite marks got bigger, so I had to get a second opinion.”

Pest control were contacted by Pratik and after he mentioned the issues he was facing to them, they investigated the bitten equipment.

“They looked at the pipe and told me straight away that it was caused by rats,” he said.

“The rats are coming in through the pipe and eating it from the inside out.

Swindon Advertiser: Pest control believe that rats are to blame for the pipe's recurring bite marks.Pest control believe that rats are to blame for the pipe's recurring bite marks. (Image: Getty)

 

“My father has owned the property since 2009 and we have never had issues before,” he said.

“There’s no sign of rats anywhere else in the whole house.”

Pratik had to deal with this recurring problem all throughout Christmas, which has left the fulltime chemical engineer exhausted.

“It upsets and frustrates me that this is happening,” he said.

“It took me four hours to replace the pipe each time and this was during the holiday season."

The estimated total cost of the operation is £250 as the pipes alone cost £80 and the pest control quote was further £150.