Ref. 289976THERE were discarded needles, crack pipes, tin foil and a fridge magnetic that said 'Never think heroin is nice, it's just a bad pain and it's false.'

This week, drug addict rock star Pete Doherty admitted he started taking crack because of the romantic connotations that still linger about drugs, art and music. Anyone under that misapprehension should look round a flat like this the first crackhouse in Wiltshire to be shut under new laws.

Walking upstairs into the one-bedroom property in the Railway Village, central Swindon, the putrid smell hits you.

The grimy carpet is thick with hair from tenant Hosea Stewart's Staffordshire pitbull terrier Bullet.

Earlier, we watched as the 41-year-old, his girlfriend and another woman loaded their belongings into a car and fled leaving neighbours breathing a sigh of relief.

They left behind a glimpse into three desperate lives.

A Bisto gravy jar overflows with needles on the draining board next to a crack pipe made from a Coke bottle.

Burnt spoons and tin foil are everywhere, and there are lumps of white power probably bicarbonate of soda, which is mixed with cocaine to make crack.

It's hard to imagine how anyone could live like this.

Most people wouldn't let their dog sleep on the bed.

We held our breath to look into the bathroom the toilet seat was hanging off and the edge of the bath was stained where heroin had been heated.

Other items stood out against the squalor.

Several children's toys were scattered on the floor, and a poignant photograph on the mantelpiece showed a small child playing happily. The evicted tenants didn't have time to take their Spice World the Movie book left on the soiled sofa.

The flat in Emlyn Square was built by IK Brunel to house labourers who toiled at the railway works.

Valued at around £115,000, it is located in a desirable area, and was rented out privately for £450 a month.

It is one of four in the block, opposite the Mechanics' Institute, and since Stewart arrived in May last year, life has been hell for other residents.

Kim Bond, 36, said: "I've been waiting for this for a long time.

"I think the council was getting tired of coming out and fixing broken doors and smashed windows in the block just to have them broken again."

When police raided the property this week they found 10 people inside and made four arrests.

Now, metal shutters have been installed to close the flat for three months after magistrates issued a closure order.

Superintendent Richard Rowland, of Swindon police, said: "This doesn't just solve a major problem for the community but sends a strong message to all those involved in drugs."

Tamash Lal