Three bedsits in Liverpool have been closed after serious concerns were raised over their condition and fire safety.

Acting on intelligence, officers from the council's Landlord Licensing team discovered a 'catalogue of hazards' at accommodation above commercial premises in Lodge Lane, Toxeth.

The four-storey property had been 'poorly converted' into eight bedsits, all of which were unlicensed. Three of the bedsits were occupied and works were ongoing to the remaining five.

In addition, no precautions were in place to protect tenants should a fire break out.

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Other hazards included;

• Broken fire doors with missing self-closers

• Damage to walls and ceilings within the bedsits and the means of escape, allowing for the fast passage of smoke and fire

• Exposed electric meters in communal areas increasing the risk of spread from fire

• Illegally connected internal soil pipes taking waste from the top floor bedsits which ran down the main stairs and were the only means of escape from the building

Further inspections found dangerous layouts with inner rooms. In the event of a fire, tenants would have had to escape through the kitchen area to get out of the property and cookers were located in dangerous positions within the bedsits.

Cllr Frank Hont said it was "shocking" that any landlord would allow people to live in these conditions, describing the house as a "potential death trap".

"We used our powers under Landlord Licensing to inspect it and secured a closure order," he said.

"We are determined to drive up the standard of private rented accommodation in this city and will not hesitate to take action when we find landlords putting their tenants at risk."

(LM/MH)