'Greedy' landlord crammed 16 people into one house in Wyken

Gurmeet Singh admitted breaching fire safety rules - court heard tragedy was averted by chance when blaze broke out at night

A landlord who was making a fortune out of cramming people into a Coventry house has been jailed after putting his tenants’ lives at risk by breaching fire regulations.

It was only down to the ‘sixth sense’ of one tenant who woke in the middle of the night that tragedy was averted after a fire broke out in the house, a judge has heard.

The woman who raised the alarm said she was paying £400 a month rent for her room – and there were a total of 16 people living in nine rooms, including the loft and garage which had been converted into sleeping accommodation.

Gurmeet Singh, the owner of the house in Ansty Road, Wyken, Coventry, appeared at the crown court in Leamington after pleading guilty to eight charges of breaching fire safety regulations.

Singh, 66, of Heath Road, Stoke, Coventry, who pleaded guilty at the court to a further offence of obstructing a fire inspector following the incident, was jailed for nine months.

Judge Alan Parker, who said Singh had acted out of greed, making up to £4,000 a month out of the 16 occupants, also ordered him to pay West Midlands Fire Service’s costs of £7,436.70 within two months.