A DECOMPOSING rat which plagued the lives of a Newton Aycliffe couple has finally been found and removed.
The Northern Echo reported on Thursday that Tom and Ann Tomlinson told Sedgefield Borough Council about a terrible stench at their home in Ashfield more than a month ago.
The smell was a rat that had got into their house through a hole in wall and died there.
The hole was bricked up, but despite their best efforts, council officials could not find the rat.
The smell got worse, making the couple ill and forcing them to sleep at their daughters' homes.
Within hours of the story appearing in The Northern Echo, local councillor George Gray visited the couple and reported back to the council.
Workers visited that day and found the rat in a wardrobe.
Mrs Tomlinson said: "We've got our scented candles out and hopefully the smell is going to die off now."
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