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A stunned landlord said he "nearly cried" when he saw what nightmare tenants had done to his house.

Daniel Needes, from Bridgend in Wales, had rented the house out for two years.

He told Wales Online that the home had been in "immaculate condition" - after it was renovated by his late father and had been kitted out with new appliances.

But Daniel said that less than two years later the tenants suddenly moved out without notice and he discovered the property had been completely trashed.

Daniel, a single father, said: "I went down to the house as soon as I could and that's when I saw what they’d done.

"To be honest, when I first saw it I nearly cried. They had completely trashed it."

(Image: Daniel Needes)

He claims he only found out the family had left when he received a letter from the Department for Work and Pensions - which paid the rent directly to Daniel - saying payments had stopped because he was no longer their landlord.

In the kitchen, the tenants had left so many plastic carrier bags, crushed boxes, binbags and empty food containers that the floor was completely hidden. Junk was piled high in the sink, a greasy fryer was left on the side and a chest freezer half-filled with defrosted food was left wide open.

Daniel said the family had left rotting food in the kitchen, bathroom and in bags that were strewn throughout the house as well as prescription medication including tablets and inhalers.

(Image: Daniel Needes)

"The house stank. They had turned it into a rubbish tip," he said.

Shocking photos show that wallpaper had been torn down, walls had been left with holes in them, doors were broken and the once-cream carpet was covered with dirt and black stains.

The tenants had also left behind heaps of unwanted belongings such as clothes and toys throughout the house. In one room, a giant pink dolls house can be seen among the clutter while in another, black sheets and a cartoon-themed duvet have been left on a child's bed.

Daniel said he envisages repair work will be in the thousands.

(Image: Daniel Needes)

"The house needs stripping," he said. "I've spent hundreds just having the house and garden emptied and I don't think anything is salvageable.

"It's a disgrace."

But for Daniel, the hardest thing has been seeing his dad's hard work go to waste.

He said: "He spent five years doing it up and it was immaculate, it looked like a show home.

"He passed shortly afterwards. I was planning on moving back into the house but I had to move in with my mother so I decided to let it out.

“I'm just glad he isn't here to see the state they've left it in as that would crush him.”

(Image: Daniel Needes)

Daniel said the tenants also racked up around £1,000 in arrears on the gas and electricity meters which had cut off.

But despite the time and money needed to put the house back in a rentable condition, Daniel hasn't been put off letting his property.

He said: "I don't know where I went wrong. I think there should be some sort of database where landlords can upload evidence against tenants so others know to be wary in the future.

"I'll get the house back into a good condition and then rent it out, this hasn't put me off. But I'm definitely going to be more cautious in the future."