A ROGUE landlord claims he is being “victimised” after council workers with police back-up carried out an unannounced inspection.

Southend Council obtained three warrants to search the property in Devereux Road, Southend, owned by Robert Crow, on the morning of July 19.

He said: “I knew nothing about it. I had been with a friend in Westcliff and when I came back a load of stuff was going on.

“Nobody from the station had approached me. Nobody from the council asked if they could come and inspect.

“I’m mad as a snake.”

The 67-year-old was fined £40,000 by Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court earlier this year for breaching 15 regulations governing Homes of Multiple Occupation.

When the property was last inspected, officers found tenants in the four bedroom terraced house were living in squalid conditions with some sleeping under a tarpaulin in the garden.

Mark Flewitt, the councillor for housing, said the council “will not tolerate criminal landlords”.

He added: “We are also not satisfied with just taking action and walking away, as we realise that cases like this must be followed up to ensure that things do not slip back to how they were beforehand.

“Yesterday officers from our private sector housing team, accompanied by Essex Police, carried out an unannounced visit on the property in question to check things out.

“Following the visit, officers are now considering the concerns encountered and how that should be addressed.

“As this is an on-going investigation we cannot go into any further detail at this time.”