A RESIDENT whose home was infested with bed bugs says the council should be doing more to monitor the problem, as figures reveal a five-fold increase in Woodford Green.

Between 2003 and 2007, bed bug outbreaks in an area of Woodford Green rose by over 500 per cent, according to council figures revealed in a Freedom of Information request.

While other parts of the borough have been relatively free from the vampire-like insects that emerge at dawn to feed on human blood, the concentrated pocket of infestation within the IG8 postcode makes up part of a bed bug “corridor” across the capital.

David Cain of Bed Bugs limited, who created a London-wide map of contaminations, warned that the problem in the city could easily return to 1930s conditions where one in three homes suffered from a blight of the bugs.

He added: “Where they used to be an incredibly rare problem, they are now a global issue with corridors of infestation across most major international cities.

“People need to check their homes at least every month and also look for signs when they’re staying away in hotels for example, as after there has been a problem for around six months it gets to the stage where they can be passed on in people’s clothing or even on the seats of public transport.”

Contrary to popular belief, the bugs, which are visible at about the size and shape of an apple pip, are attracted to body heat as opposed to dirt.

Karen Naylor, of St Barnabas Road, Woodford Green, suffered an outbreak of the creatures at a previous address.

She said: “It is worrying that I‘m in the area where there’s an infestation because when I had them before they were an absolute nightmare.

“We had to get the whole house fumigated and wash everything fabric and then live out of bags for a month while you wait for them all to die.

“They’re really horrible things and they should be monitored and dealt with properly as they spread so easily and are so hard to get rid of.”

A spokesperson for Redbridge Council said: “The London bed bug survey revealed both good and bad news. "The survey showed that Redbrdige as a whole do not have a problem and indeed there is only on very small area that was above average for the whole of London. "The company have confirmed that Redbridge is way below average."