Squatters who broke into a disused public toilet turned it into a makeshift flat.

A group of eastern Europeans set up a bed, stove and installed plug sockets in the abandoned toilet block in Whitchurch Lane, Edgware.

When Harrow Borough Council officers and police raided the derelict building last Wednesday, they were forced to use bolt cutters to gain access.

Inside, they found a bed wedged into the corner of what used to be the men’s urinals as well as a cooker, fridge and microwave.

Clothes were hung on washing lines and frying pans were left on the hob.

Nobody was n the building, but papers examined by police at the scene suggest the occupants were Romanian.

The 1960s block is due to be auctioned by the council on Wednesday and has since been boarded up.

Cllr Susan Hall, leader of Harrow Council, said: “This was a public convenience, but it was not meant to be quite that convenient for the squatters who have evidently turned into a one bedroom flat.

“What this shows is that the pressures of Eastern European migration are rippling out into suburbia. People may be desperate to resort to these measures, but this is a building the council needs to sell to put money into services.

“As it is, the taxpayer is going to be left spending more than a penny to repair the damage done at this site.”