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SECURITY guards ferried to Glasgow to work at the Commonwealth Games have condemned their ‘squalid’ living conditions.

Paul Smith was among hundreds of staff brought to Scotland from north-west England to bolster the Games’ security operation.

Paul, 29, said he and his colleagues were told they would be put up in student accommodation.

But instead they were housed in tents pitched on a rugby field 10 miles outside Glasgow and driven to and from the city for marathon shifts lasting up to 15 hours.

Paul, a registered security guard, told the Sunday Mail of his shock at the temporary accommodation.

He said: “I took one look at the tents and just thought, ‘Oh dear.’

“There was big demand for guards for the Games and people who have worked in the sector before were offered a two-week contract.

“It was long hours and I was under no illusion about that.

“We were told it would be student accommodation but it was clear it was some kind of rugby field with marquees on it where we would be sleeping.

“The floor was just temporary wooden boards with mattresses laid out for workers.

“I’d arrived in a bus with about 20 other people. Three of them took one look at the accommodation and just chucked it on the spot.

“Two more left on the second day and another on the third. The whole thing has been a disaster. I wish I’d stayed on the bus.”

Workers will stay at the tents, pitched at Cumbernauld Rugby Club, near Condorrat, until Tuesday.

Dad-of-one Paul, of Liverpool, is registered with the Security Industry Authority and has worked at music festivals across the UK.

He said his Commonwealth Games experience compared badly – even with the tough conditions experienced at festivals.

He said: “At festivals, at least you know what you are getting, but not here. We were told we’d be working 12-hour shifts but on some occasions we were working 15 hours with virtually no breaks.

Paul, who was born Smith but has changed his name, stuck it out but says he was fired on Friday for “not following orders”.

He said he was hired by security sub-contractor X Force Protection, who provided workers for Manchester-based Controlled Event Solutions.

A Glasgow 2014 spokeswoman said they’d never heard of X Force.

Controlled Event Solutions told us they worked closely with the relevant authorities to ensure conditions met required standards and the marquees, having been inspected, were not squalid.

But another guard, who did not wish to be named, said she was “disgusted” by the conditions.

She said: “If I’d known I’d have to live in a tent, I would never have taken the job.

“There was only one block of communal showers for a mixed group of 200 people. It was not good.”

Glasgow 2014 said X Force Protection were not one of their 17 framework suppliers for the provision of security and stewarding services.

They declined to say how much Controlled Event Solutions were paid to provide security, saying it was “confidential contract information”.

CES provided security at Tollcross pool and the SECC and also worked on temporary transport-related sites.

Games officials said checks were in place to ensure security companies treated staff fairly, including spot checks on water and sun cream provision.

A Games spokeswoman said: “Glasgow 2014 works with local authorities and other agencies to make sure the contract security workforce has a safe and healthy temporary living environment.

“It is the contractor’s responsibility to arrange accommodation and ensure the welfare and comfort of their staff.”

Glasgow 2014 are understood to have notified North Lanarkshire Council of problems at the rugby club site after concerns were raised.

Council officials made several visits to the site and a number of health and safety recommendations were made, including provision of wash basins and better toilet cleaning.

North Lanarkshire Council added: “We are continuing to carry out regular checks.”

No one from Cumbernauld Rugby Club was available for comment.

This article was edited on January 10 after a complaint from Controlled Solutions Group, Manchester.