A toddler has been left mutilated after a massive rat gnawed part of his ear off has he lay frozen with fear in bed in a French council flat.
The two-year-old boy, named locally as Ismaël, was found by his parents covered in blood and rat droppings in his home in the French city of Le Havre in Normandy on September 21.
Horrifying footage showed blood spatters across the boy’s small bed.
Another clip showed the severely injured boy lying on his back recovering from bloody wounds across his body.
Local media reported the boy was frozen in fear, and didn’t scream during the initial attack.
Ismaël was taken to hospital after suffering serious injuries to his ear, face and hand.
Amel, the boy’s mother added that the child also had bruises, blisters on his hand and black eyes.
She said: ‘I wouldn’t wish my worst enemy to find his child in the same state I found mine in’.
The two-year-old boy, named locally as Ismaël, was found by his parents covered in blood and rat droppings in his home
The rat was described as ‘large as a cat’
After he was taken to hospital, his father installed a camera in his room. Shortly thereafter, they spotted a rat ‘the size of a cat’ crawling around the room, which was then caught and killed.
Ismaël remains in a critical condition in hospital, where he is suffering from a serious infection in the flesh of his hand.
Doctors are reportedly considering a skin graft or ear reconstruction.
Though the boy’s family has been temporarily housed in a hotel, residents of the estate are up in arms as they have long complained about the issue of rats.
One local person told French media: ‘We even see them during the day, running around on terraces and in hallways. Some enter apartments as soon as the door is opened’.
Another woman, who local media reported is close with the family, said several complaints have been lodged over the past few months, but nothing has been done to rectify the situation.
She said: ‘The landlord is aware that the building is dilapidated. They’ve been reporting problems for months, but nothing has been done’.
