A company has been fined £22,000 after it failed to fix issues such as a leaking roof and a pigeon infestation at a block of flats in Dagenham.

Proposed Company Limited ignored legal notices issued by Barking and Dagenham Council to carry out repairs required at the building it owned in Whalebone Lane South.

Representatives of the firm, based in Goswell Road, Islington, failed to attend a hearing at Barkingside Magistrates' Court earlier this month.

Proposed Company Limited was found guilty in its absence of failing to comply with two abatement notices issued by the council and served with the fine.

Councillor Syed Ghani, cabinet member for enforcement and community safety, said: “The owners of the building showed a flagrant disregard not just for the law, but for the health and safety of the people forced to live in squalid and unsafe conditions.

“Most private landlords play by the rules in Barking and Dagenham, but we will not tolerate tenants being exploited and when our officers outline failures we expect standards to be raised.”

The council said it brought the case to court after receiving complaints from residents living in the block.

Its officers visited the building, which has maisonette flats on two floors above shops, several times between March and August.

Damp and mould were also among the issues found during the visit.

After the inspections, the authority issued two abatement notices under section 80 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 ordering Proposed Company Limited to carry out repairs "within weeks" relating to a leaking roof and a pigeon infestation.

But the council said the company, which purchased the freehold for the building in 1993, did not carry out any maintenance.

Cllr Ghani hoped the sentence "sends a strong message to anyone who hopes to prioritise profit over people that we will take action when necessary".

Proposed Company Limited was also told to pay £150 costs and a £190 victim surcharge.