A TENEMENT block evacuated by council building control officers was branded as having potential "serious health and safety" problems five months earlier.

The block of six flats at Annette Street in Govanhill was cleared by Glasgow City Council's Building Control division earlier this month, with around 20 residents given just two hours to gather belongings before the building was sealed off.

But a report on a property inspection carried out by the council and dated June 18 described a host of problems with the building.

They included obvious structural movement, loose brickwork, loose/moved floor slabs and twisted stair balusters" in the close.

Also included in the report is a warning that a clear crack seen spreading from the ground floor to the first floor will worsen as structural movement continues.

One line in the reports reads: "The rear elevation stonework at lower levels clearly shows the impact of the structural movement which is affecting each floor as the condition of the property worsens."

The evacuation this month came after engineers, called in by the landlords who rent out the flats, were so concerned by what they found that they contacted the council.

The local authority's Building Control team told householders to leave immediately and boarded up the building within a few hours.

Resident Sebastian Monteux, 34, had to find alternative accomodation.

He said: "This report shows that the council knew about the problems here months ago.

"Why did they not evacuate the building in June?

"When I took on the lease from a letting agent a few months back, I was told the problems were cosmetic and were being dealt with.

"This report shows that was not the case and, had the council acted earlier, I would never have signed the lease on what is clearly a dangerous building."

A Glasgow City Council spokesman said: "The building was in a poor state of repair and that was made very clear to the owners.

"A number of months later, with no remedial work having taken place, it had become dangerous and officers had no option but to act to protect residents and public safety."

To add to the residents' misery, the building has been broken into and every flat ransacked since it was sealed by the council.

Police Scotland said the break-ins are being investigated.

stef.lach@heraldandtimes.co.uk