Cockroaches and a bag of sick: Inside the halls a student is paying £1,600 a month for Who we are Contact Advertise Tips UK Write Tips News Trash Agenda Trends Opinion Guides UK Belfast Birmingham Bournemouth Bristol Brookes Cambridge Cardiff Coventry Durham Edinburgh Exeter Glasgow King's Lancaster Leeds Lincoln Liverpool London Manchester Newcastle Nottingham Oxford Sheffield Soton St Andrews Sussex University of East Anglia Warwick York Cockroaches and a bag of sick: Inside the halls a student is paying £1,600 a month for Alicia Sowerby described the living conditions as ‘a breach of human rights’ 2 months ago Phoebe Kowhai News UK A London student was left paying for accommodation that had cockroaches, broken heating and a bag of sick. Alicia Sowerby, 23 years old, moved in the student accommodation in Aldgate last year when she began studying at the University of Law. After a year spent living in the accommodation that she described as a “prison”, Alicia says both her physical and mental health has suffered. via SWNS Over her year in the iQ Student Accommodation building, Alicia says she dealt with cockroaches, leaking ceilings, broken heating and lifts and a bag of sick that was left in the communal area for over 24 hours. An iQ spokesperson told The Tab the images are “misleading” and said: “Over the last year we have addressed every issue that Alicia has raised”. One resident was apparently stuck in the building’s lift over night as the emergency button had been removed. Alicia claimed that pest control were called in to deal with the infestation of cockroaches but to no avail and the pests spread quickly throughout the building. via SWNS Alicia said: “The pest control man said they were German cockroaches that spread really quickly, and they tried to get rid of them. “But after he left I heard they had spread over the whole floor and it was going to be shut down. They are still there.” The conditions eventually got so bad that some tenants cancelled their contracts whilst another group of residents also organised a petition over the complaints. via SWNS Speaking to SWNS, Alicia said: “It’s absolutely horrendous. You wouldn’t believe it. It’s such a lot of money I have no idea how they are getting away with this. “The whole block stinks and there is rubbish everywhere. It’s disgusting. Those living conditions are a breach of human rights. It’s like living in a prison. “We’re just young people trying to live away from home for the first time. It was overwhelmingly upsetting and I really couldn’t handle it.” via SWNS An iQ spokesperson said: “We pride ourselves on the high-quality accommodation we provide to our students and ensure common areas are cleaned multiple times each day. “We are disappointed that Alicia has made a series of allegations, supported by misleading photographs, that do not reflect the reality of life at Aldgate. “We frequently inspect our buildings and over the last year we have addressed every issue that Alicia has raised.” Do you have a story you think we should know about? Email [email protected] Related articles recommended by this author • Uni student given life sentence after repeatedly stabbing his ex-girlfriend • Russell Group unis paid students up to £15k to defer their places • Jewish grad sues Leeds Uni, claiming her essay was failed because it didn’t criticise Israel Featured image via SWNS. 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