A ROMSEY man has been driven to camp outside of his flat after enduring a moth infestation for almost a year.

John Ford, who lives in Wakeford Court, Cressey Road, pitched up a tent on Monday with a canvas brandishing the message "ten months of hell" after scores of moths invaded his living room.

This comes after the 74-year-old had his home fumigated twice in the last ten months after discovering “60 black Indian meal moths” in his kitchen and bedroom, forcing him to seal off his kitchen in an attempt to keep the pests at bay.

Now John's friend has slammed the housing company, Aster Group, for allowing John to "live in chaos", while calling on them to kill the insects as soon as possible.

However, Aster Group has said they tried to contact John over "the past couple of days", adding they are looking to find "alternative accommodation" for him.

John’s friend Lucy Sky said: "I thought the best thing to do was to contact my friend Judith, who managed to order a tent from Argos, and I said to John on Monday 'let's get this done and hopefully you can get something out of it'.

"We put the tent closer to his flat because John is worried he will get evicted as he is on the communal grass area, but there is nothing there anybody could say is blocking access to the gate.

"The dry weather is helping John now, but we do not know how long that will last for and of course it gets cold after 6pm every night."

The 62-year-old added: "Aster is watching John go downhill, they are not really helping him and because he had not stood up for himself he is overlooked.

"I would be very surprised if nothing happens soon because this needs to be resolved; John cannot use his kitchen, bathroom, living room and bedroom because of the 60 black Indian meal moths, which is detrimental to his physical and mental health."

Lucy stressed John "used his last canvas" to paint his message, which he has placed by his tent as a cry for help.

She said John has stopped painting, which "helps keep him stable," because he is too stressed from the moth infestation.

John pleaded Aster Group should move him into temporary accommodation to tackle the infestation in the kitchen, which he believes is the root of the problem.

He said: "Aster has got the money to do it and I know another resident was put in the White Horse Hotel for a week and this was a few months ago".

He added he is not sleeping in the tent yet, due to the "cold weather", adding he will "buy a sleeping bag next week" in order to live outside all day.

As previously reported in the Romsey Advertiser, John explained the moths have not been killed yet because it can take “three attempts” for this to be successful, which he was told by pest control.

However, he warned he does not know if he can “mentally carry on” for much longer.

A spokesperson from Aster Group said: “We are sorry that Mr Ford feels he can no longer live in his home; we’ve tried to speak to Mr Ford over the past couple of days but have unfortunately been unable to reach him.

"We take situations like this incredibly seriously and we will be working closely with our partner agencies to resolve the issue.

"We will do all we can to support Mr Ford into alternative accommodation should that be the best solution for him.”