The heroes of the British army have to live in rat-infested hellholes

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Squaddies and their families have posted pictures of rats, mice, mold and collapsed toilets on Facebook to draw attention to the hellholes they live in

Heroes willing to die for Britain must live in rat-infested hellholes and fire-prone Grenfell-style apartments.

Armed forces homes are so dilapidated that troops have posted pictures of rats, mice, mold and collapsed toilets on a specially set up Facebook page.

The housing problems are so bad that MPs fear it will hurt morale and cause people to leave the services.

Pest control is a growing problem in the nearly 50,000 Department of Defense homes. Despite fewer properties, bug stakes increased from 4,300 in 2015 to 4,800 in 2020.

And the MoD figures for the last seven years are shocking, with 33,817 pest control emergencies, 460,000 for power outages, 428,000 for heating failures and 40,000 calls for roof problems.

Of equal concern, 188 DoD family houses and 591 for individual recruits are in blocks covered with combustible material.

And 25 of the buildings have at least six stories, raising fears of a repeat of the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire that killed 72 people.

Defense chiefs say all buildings “have an up-to-date fire risk assessment and remain legally compliant for continued use.”

The armed forces’ housing problems are highlighted on Facebook.

Dozens of pictures of rats and mice have been posted online, along with issues of dampness, mold, collapsed ceilings and even toilets that have fallen apart.

An army woman wrote: “For the last three years we have had rats and mice in our house. Last year they had to lift the floorboards in our living room to remove a dead rat that was rotting. The smell was indescribable.”

She said they alerted the Department of Defense contractor but heard nothing. She said: “Now there is another dead rodent lying in our kitchen. We found so much poop while removing kickboards. We set humane traps and caught many of them.”

Parliament’s budget committee has declared that too many soldiers are living in substandard conditions.

Leader Meg Hillier MP said: “Poor housing puts a strain on work and family life, hurting morale and retention rates. The nation cannot afford to lose experienced and qualified personnel because their homes are not up to standard.”

Former military intelligence officer Col Philip Ingram called the number of vermin operations a disgrace.

“For years the Department of Defense has said that people are their most important asset, only words and actions are replaced with excuses and apologies.

“Service staff and their families still suffer from having to pay for unsafe and substandard accommodation with no opportunity to relocate.”

The Department of Defense said: “All homes allocated meet at least the government’s standard for decent homes. In the last year we have invested over £120m to improve accommodation.”