A young mother fears her baby's health is at risk after mice invaded her home in a block of council flats.

Laura Jackson has been forced to put down traps in her home after a mouse appeared in her first-floor living room.

Her 11-month-old daughter Abbie now has to be constantly watched and kept away from the traps while she plays.

Laura, 19, is worried about her family's health after she also discovered mouse droppings on their sofa.

Her partner, William Thorne, 25, a fencer, first spotted a mouse early on Monday.

Since then they have put down traps bated with chocolate which they have been told the mice like.

Neighbours have also spotted mice in their next-door flat in Penstone Court, Wilmot Road, Shoreham.

Laura said Adur District Council had told her it could be up to a month before the problem was dealt with.

She said: "They also said we would have to pay £80 before they would send the pest controller round.

"Because I am on benefit they said they would do it for £20 for me.

"I still can't afford that much because it would mean less food. That is a week's worth of nappies for Abbie.

"But that is not the point. These are council-owned flats and they are responsible for maintaining them.

"The mice are a health risk which need dealing with now, not in a month.

"Even if I could afford to pay, the whole block needs to be cleared of mice at the same time.

"What is the point of me paying £20 for them to do this flat if the others are not cleared as well. The mice will just go from flat to flat."

A spokesman for the council said: "If a tenant has done something to cause the problem they have to pay.

"In this case, some bricks were removed from a wall in the block to replace damaged insulation after floods during the winter.

"The bricks were not replaced by our contractors and so it would appear that the council is at fault.

"As a result, wewill do the work free of charge in this case and will get a pest control officer around there as soon as we can."