A LANDLORD has been left with a £5,200 legal bill after his sprawling house in North Manchester was closed down for being a blight on the neighbourhood.

Drug-dealing and possible exploitation offences have been linked to the property in Seymour Road, Crumpsall, owned by Abdul Razar Saddiqui.

But the 52-year-old, of Parkhills Road, Fishpool, contested the closure order, brought by Manchester City Council before the city's magistrates court last week.

JPs agreed with the authority, after hearing police had received 86 calls about the three-storey property since 2014 and ordered Mr Saddiqui to pay £5,230 in court costs.

Mr Saddiqui himself has previously been fined £1,200 after being convicted of a raft of fire safety and gas safety offences in relation to the building.

Neighbours complained that the house, which is opposite Sam Rosenberg House and a period National Landlord Association approved rental, was not being properly maintained.

And city council officials say that back in April, after a fight was reported at the premises, police and officials attended to find a woman who was considered to be 'at risk', who was given emergency accommodation and support.

A Czech national, wanted on a European arrest warrant, was also detained as a result of the same incident, for crimes committed in his home country.

Waste offences had also piled up in relation to the property, according to council chiefs, with no fewer than five notices served on the house since 2016.

An application to close the property for three months was granted by magistrates on the grounds a person has, or will, 'engage in disorderly, offensive or criminal behaviour on the premises'.

Only Mr Saddiqui, the police or city council officers will be allowed into the property before October 2.

If a closure order is breached, the punishment can be a maximum of six months imprisonment.

Cllr Nigel Murphy, the city council's deputy leader, said after the case: "This property has been nothing short of a horror show for the people living in this neighbourhood.

"As a council we always want to try and engage with people before we go to the courts but in this case our attempts have been futile. The owner has failed to address the litany of problems, so we were forced to take this action."