Attack of the slugs

**22 per cent of Warwick students have experienced slugs in their accommodation during their time at university, according to a recent survey by the website Studentbeans.com.**

Warwick ranks 28th out of 89 universities rated for slug problems, which was topped by Queens University, Belfast, whereby 45.5 per cent of students claim to be bothered by slugs.Coventry University places 7th with 38.5 per cent.

Five students interviewed by the _Boar_ said they haven’t seen any slugs on campus. First year French and German student Claudia Loy who lives in Westwood is quite satisfied with the campus accommodation.

“It’s a long walk to the library but it’s very close to Tesco, where things are cheaper than in Costcutter. And the problems with appliances get fixed really soon,” she said.

Silvia Cheng, a first-year Morse student who lives in Jack Martin is surprised by the result of the survey. “I’ve never seen any slugs during my stay in the UK since high school, and I’ve never heard anyone talking about it before.”

The University’s head of communications, Peter Dunn was sceptical of the survey, commenting: “It looks like a survey designed to generate attention for a particular web site.”

He said: “Students living off campus at Warwick fall into two groups – those living in properties managed by the University, and those who are in the private sector. The issue covered by this survey has not been a major issue in properties managed by the University. We would not know if any private sector renters would have taken up such a matter with their landlords.”

“The biggest complaint that the Accommodation Office has got is that people wish to live in campus accommodation rather than off campus which is why we have invested £50 million in new campus accommodation in the last 2 years,” he added.

Second year Psychology student Ariadna Rodriguez Barclay who lives in Leamington Spa found her room through estate agency and has no mollusc problems. “It’s easy and you don’t have to worry about moving out till the next year. If you have any problems, you can just call the agency,” she said.

A third year Physics student who wished to remain anonymous offered some tips to students who are trying to find good accommodation: “Start early. Talk to older students and Warwick Accommodation is also very helpful. You can find a lot of information you need there.”