A Libyan man who illegally sub-let his council flat to the Manchester Arena bomber said there was a “funny, strong smell” in his home when he returned to the 12th-floor property the month before the atrocity, a court has heard.

Aimen Elwafi said he was “so angry” at the state his flat had been left in, with Salman Abedi departing two weeks before the end of the agreed two-month period, that he intended to call the man and complain.

He said there were water bottles filled with cloudy liquid in the freezer, the electricity had been switched off, and a mattress, sleeping bags and a blanket had been left behind.

Elwafi said Abedi “left the flat in a hurry” in mid-April and called him from the airport.

Abedi’s brother, Hashem, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of 22 counts of murder, one count of attempted murder encompassing the injured survivors, and conspiring with his brother to cause explosions in the Manchester Arena attack on 22 May 2017.

Prosecutors allege that Hashem, now 22, was complicit in sourcing and stockpiling components for the bomb, which were stored at Elwafi’s flat in Somerton Court, Blackley, Manchester.

The trial previously heard that the brothers left the UK for Libya in April, with Salman returning to Manchester alone on 18 May. Prosecutors say that materials for the bomb were later stored in vehicles around Manchester before being used in the attack.

In a witness statement read to the court, Elwafi said he was in financial difficulty so rented the flat to Salman Abedi for a short time after placing an advert on a Libyan Facebook page.

The older brother, 22 at the time of the blast, paid £850 for two months’ use of the one-bedroom flat, the court heard.

Elwafi told police that Salman arrived to look around the property with his younger brother, but was “impolite” because he did not accept a cup of tea or introduce himself with his full name.

The council tenant said in his witness statement: “I didn’t find anything suspicious, I just thought he was rude. It was done in a hurry.”

The sub-let was cut short when Elwafi received a phone call from Salman.

Elwafi, a law graduate, told police: “He said: ‘I have got to give you the keys, I’m going back to Libya.’

“I asked if everything was OK, I thought someone had passed away. He just said he had some personal issues.”

Elwafi returned to the flat that evening, and said he was shocked at what he saw.

He told police: “I opened my flat door and I smelt a funny, strong smell. It smelled like petrol and diesel.”

He added: “I noticed the carpet was dirty. The next thing I noticed was the wire in the ceiling was hanging down and the smoke alarm was gone.

“There were four bottles of mineral water. I smelled that, and it was very strong, the same smell that was carrying through the flat.”

He told police he was “angry that they had left my flat in this way”.

Elwafi said he found some kitchen foil shaped into a bowl, containing some sort of substance designed to make the flat smell good.

He added: “At first I thought about black magic, I was trying to find an explanation. I didn’t think it was illegal.”

Elwafi said Salman phoned him from the airport the following day, during which he told Elwafi to throw away the bottles with the cloudy liquid, before “quickly” changing the subject, jurors heard.

“He told me he had to leave in a hurry,” Elwafi said. “He said he was sorry.”

Elwafi said he did not speak to Salman again, but recognised his face in the media coverage the day after the bombing. He later contacted police to explain the sub-let, and spent time in custody before being released without charge a few days later.

Hashem Abedi denies all charges. The trial continues.