THE Fire Brigade has been forced to lock the doors to a former Camden Town pub after discovering it had been converted into flats they deemed unsafe. The Tavern Inn the Town pub on Castle Road was evacuated and closed on Friday after officers were called

THE Fire Brigade has been forced to lock the doors to a former Camden Town pub after discovering it had been converted into flats they deemed unsafe.

The Tavern Inn the Town pub on Castle Road was evacuated and closed on Friday after officers were called in to do a safety check by Haverstock Safer Neighbourhoods Team.

The SNT had gone in to arrest a suspect and discovered around a dozen people cramped into tiny bedrooms which appeared to have been built without permission.

Some of the residents claimed they were paying rent to a landlord.

The Ham&High understands the landlord refused to come and meet police officers when they asked him.

A police source told the Ham&High: "When officers went there they realised it had been converted into 10 rooms and there were no health and safety regulations.

"It was clear there were cramped conditions and the whole place was a fire hazard. All the residents had to be given notice to quit the building and the windows were then all boarded up."

A spokesman for the London Fire Brigade said: "We have served a prohibition notice on the building because when we visited it we had serious safety concerns.

"The notice means the building is closed until it is in a fit state to habitable again and the fire safety regulations are met.