Revealed: Up to 6,000 'beds in sheds' set-up by rogue landlords are found by spy plane's thermal image camera

Slough Borough Council spends £24,000 building up 3D map from air

Authority uncovered 6,350 suspicious sheds and garages emitting heat

Thousands could be living in converted outbuildings without permission

Plane criss-crossed streets, picking up heat signals from outbuildings

Analysis of images from night flight revealed suspicious dwellings



A spy plane equipped with a thermal imaging camera has found that m ore than 6,000 outbuildings in one town could be 'beds in sheds' converted by rogue landlords.



Slough Borough Council is the first local authority in the country to pay for the specially-adapted aircraft to fly over streets picking up heat from sheds and garages .



It spent £24,000 on flights to build up a precise 3D map of every building in the Berkshire town. The results mean thousands could be living there without planning permission or contributing council tax.



Welcome to Slough: This thermogram image shows data recovered after flying over the town, with the red representing high levels of heat escaping. The council said the imaging helps them identify outhouses because the cameras can pick up areas of high heat loss - although few can be seen outside the houses in this snippet

Normally: This satellite view from Google Maps shows the area captured by the 3D thermal imaging software in Slough, Berkshire. A school is seen to the right, while the rest of the area is mostly residential

Illegal: Councils want to crack down on rogue landlords turning sheds into illegal and often substandard living accommodation, such as this conversion in nearby Slough The plane criss-crossed streets, picking up heat signals from outbuildings which could signify they are being used as ‘sheds with beds’. Analysis of the images captured in the two-hour night flight has now revealed a staggering 6,350 suspicious dwellings in the borough. RELATED ARTICLES Previous

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Next Revealed: 36 hospital wards where care is so bad patients... Share this article Share Although many of the outbuildings are habitable, some are described as being unsafe, with little or no heating, or do not comply with building or fire safety regulations. Landlords face £200 fines and the prospect of their so called 'beds in sheds' being demolished if caught illegally renting them out.

Bottom of garden: Large numbers of homes are believed to have converted outbuildings like this one without permission. Thousands could be living in Slough without planning permission or contributing council tax

Spot the difference: A normal map (left) of a street and a school in Slough, Berkshire, and then how it looks with the thermal camera (right). It cost the council £24,000 to send up an aircraft with equipment to make the map

Thermal imaging: Although many of the outbuildings are habitable, some are described as being unsafe, with little or no heating, or do not comply with building or fire safety regulations The council commissioned aerial imaging company Bluesky International to produce a thermal map of the town to target dodgy landlords and people living under the radar. During a single flight in March they gathered thermal, 3D and aerial images which allowed officers to pinpoint warm areas in outbuildings.

Initial analysis of the images from just a small part of the town highlighted 211 buildings that needed further investigation, but a further 6,139 have now been identified.

A spokesman for the council said the outbuildings do not have planning permission to be used as accommodation and further checks will now be carried out to find out if people are living in them.

UK first: A plane equipped with thermal imaging cameras flew over the town of Slough, Berkshire, to track sheds being used to illegally house immigrants (computerised image over the River Thames in London)



Up above: The thermal imaging cameras on the plane (stock image) is able to locate where people are living in the town by their body heat. The plane criss-crossed streets, picking up heat signals from outbuildings

Growing problem: Slough Council estimates there are up to 3,000 'beds in sheds' in the Berkshire town. It has been granted extra Government funding to help improve the condition of houses in multiple occupancy 'The raw data we've received from Bluesky is very useful because for the first time it gives us an accurate figure of the number of outbuildings we have in the borough that we need to investigate,' said Ray Haslam, head of environmental services and resilience at Slough Borough Council.

'This certainly gives us a good starting point and we've already started investigative work' Ray Haslam, Slough Borough Council 'People may well be using their outbuildings for legitimate purposes, so we don't want to rush into assumptions that they're all being used for housing, but this certainly gives us a good starting point and we've already started investigative work.' Slough Borough Council has been granted extra Government funding to help improve the condition of houses in multiple occupancy and reduce the number of beds in sheds.

A project team has been set up who will liaise with other agencies such as the police, Fire and Rescue service, Home Office and HMRC as part of the clamp down.

Cut backs: People living in these illegal conversions use council services but do not contribute any council tax towards them - so town halls use thermal imaging to find them Out the back: Some of the buildings uncovered in Slough may be allowed to remain a dwelling but others will be demolished. The council spent thousands sending up an aircraft with thermal-imaging equipment

A spokesman for the authority said those found living in illegal accommodation will be offered help finding somewhere else to live and welfare advice.

'This issue has been of concern to us locally for some time and I am pleased strong foundations are now in place to enable us to tackle it effectively' Slough Councillor James Swindlehurst

The council's planning enforcement team has the power to force the demolition of illegal dwellings or demand they are returned to their legal use, such as a garage or store room.



Councillor James Swindlehurst, deputy leader and commission for neighbourhoods and renewal, said: 'This issue has been of concern to us locally for some time and I am pleased strong foundations are now in place to enable us to tackle it effectively.

