HEREFORDSHIRE'S growing army of foreign workers are putting their lives at risk by living in crowded homes described as accidents waiting to happen.

Station Officer Neil Piggott, of Hereford Fire Station, said three city premises had already been closed down this year where migrant workers had been housed in dangerous conditions.

And now he is calling on Herefordshire landlords to do more to ensure safety guidelines are met where migrants are living.

"We have 20,000 migrant workers coming through Herefordshire every year and they are making a great contribution to the local economy," he said.

"But because we do not have enough accommodation, their lives are being put in danger."

Mr Piggott added that many of the foreign workers were living in caravans, which, he said, were 10 times more dangerous than other properties. He said simple steps - such as installing smoke alarms - could alleviate the threat but some people were not prepared to spend the £6 needed to save lives.

"We have already had one serious caravan fire near Ledbury," he said.

"It was only the timing of the fire that stopped the occupants being killed."

Mr Piggott said many bedsits and flats also posed a great threat to visitors from countries such as Portugal, Poland, Spain and the Ukraine.

Each week, he was seeing more and more people living in crowded homes, which were unsafe and left him with little option but to issue prohibition notices preventing persons occupying them.

"Prohibition notices are extreme measures to take," he said. "But some of these places are extremely dangerous so we have to get people out of them immediately."

This policy has not been welcomed by all, however, and Guy Taylor said the prohibition notice served on the former Sportsman Pub last week caused great problems for his foreign tenants living in the building, off Widemarsh Common.

Mr Taylor, who was told by Mr Piggott that no-one could live on the top two floors of the building, said: "This has put me in a very difficult situation because I have people staying there that have only a day's notice to find somewhere else to live.

"The authorities cannot expect me to just chuck people with little English out onto the street."

Mr Piggott said he would prefer landlords to call fire safety officers so arrangements could be made earlier to make the properties safe.

"These people are visitors and guests so we should be welcoming them with open arms and make sure they are as safe as the local population.

"The fire, police and local authority are working together to try to prevent tragedies - now we need the help of landlords too," he added.