Council enforcement officers were shocked to find 28 men crammed inside a “death trap” four-bed home while carrying out raids on dangerous, overcrowded properties.

The team of enforcement officers from Harrow Council came across the squalid home in Stanmore and found that those living there were all sharing a tiny bathroom and kitchen.

They also discovered that there was no fire escape while none of the rooms were fitted with smoke alarms.

Cllr Graham Henson, responsible for the environment at Harrow Council, said: “No one should ever live in squalor or unsafe homes.

“Our raids are about making sure properties are safe, and also that landlords and tenants are not taking advantage or operating legally. We always work with landlords to help resolve issues and problems.

“Unfortunately there are some who flout the rules for their own greed and take advantage - and where we find properties in disrepair or rogue landlords and tenants, we take action against them with fines or worse prosecution.”

Officers are currently tracking down the landlord of the Stanmore property so they can fix it up, deal with the overcrowding and have it licenced.

During the raids they also came across a two-storey house in Edgware, which was crammed with 15 people, including three children – the youngest an eight month old baby. There were also men hiding in a shed, sandwiched between mattresses.

Out of the 32 properties visited, 17 were found to be operating illegally with no HMO licence.

Officers also uncovered illegally converted outhouses, an overcrowded licenced property, and a person sleeping in a storage area who, after refusing them entry, claimed they were “on holiday”.

Harrow Council said it will continue to carry out inspections with landlords and agents to get the relevant properties licenced and vowed to take them to court if necessary.