A criminal landlord who had tenants living and sleeping in “inhumane” conditions and who ignored numerous warnings to improve his property has been fined £35,000 and ordered to pay over £4,000 in costs.

Robert Crow of Southend-on-Sea was sentenced at Chelmsford Magistrates Court for 15 breaches of HMO regulations.

Magistrates described the living conditions as “appalling, deplorable and inhumane” and declared that they had “no place in a modern Britain of today”.

After ignoring numerous warnings and being refused entry to the property, the council’s private sector housing enforcement officer enacted a warrant last August with the support of five police officers.

During the visit they found one man sleeping in a windowless bedroom less than half the national minimum room size and with exposed electric wiring.

Two people were living in the rear yard under tarpaulin, while kitchen and toilet facilities were filthy.

The gas boiler in the basement flat had been turned off, there was no gas safety certificate and the tenant said that no qualified workmen had been to the property to fix it for over a year.

The ground floor flat was filled with personal possessions and furniture. Due to the amount of items in the flat some of the rooms could not be entered.

Andrew Fiske, Southend Council’s group manager for housing, said: “Our enforcement officer who led the case said it was one of the worst cases they had seen in their professional career and so this prosecution was vital and is welcomed.”

Altogether, Crow was fined £2,000 for each of the 15 breaches, and a further £5,000 for breaching a prohibition order. He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £120 plus costs of £4,203, bringing the total bill to £39,323.