A dawn raid by enforcement officers from Brent Council found sixteen people squeezed into a two bedroom flat above a shop in north west London, in conditions described as “Dickensian” by a local councillor.

Council staff were supported by police officers when they entered the property. They found mattresses, bunkbeds and sofa beds packed into the two bedrooms and living room space within the poorly ventilated flat.

Fire escapes had been blocked while a smoke alarm was found hanging off the ceiling. One occupant told enforcement officers that he was paying £50 a week for a bed space. On this basis council staff estimated the landlord will have been receiving at least £3,200 a month.

Cllr Eleanor Southwood, Brent Council cabinet member for Housing and Welfare Reform, described conditions at the flat as “Dickensian”. The flat also contained three times the number of permitted tenants.