A MAN trashed a house which had been provided to him by a housing charity.

Blackburn magistrates heard a member of staff who entered the property discovered a scene of devastation.

Electricians, plumbers and other trades had to be called in to make the building safe and the eventual bill to restore the terraced property was expected to be "many thousands of pounds."

Dorian Richmond, 56, of St John's Road, Burnley, pleaded guilty to criminal damage to a property belonging to My Space. He was remanded on bail for the preparation of a pre-sentence report.

Scott Parker, prosecuting, said My Space was a charitable organisation which supported vulnerable individuals and Richmond had been with them since April.

"Staff say he is normally a pleasant, trouble free tenant," said Mr Parker.

"The property where the defendant was living was visited on December 14 and there was no apparent damage," said Mr Parker.

"When staff spoke to him on the phone on two subsequent occasions they noticed a change. He appeared to be intoxicated and swore at them."

On Tuesday (January 4) staff visited and found a different scene.

The front windows were smashed, a glass window in the front door and one in the porch door had also been broken.

They found plug sockets had been ripped from the walls and electricity cables cut.

In the rear room a large portion of the ceiling had collapsed and there was water pouring down from upstairs and the kitchen door had been smashed.

Upstairs the toilet had been completely removed leaving the exposed water pipes which had led to the ceiling collapse.

"My Space had to get emergency trade specialists out to make sure the property was safe," said Mr Parker.

"The damage is many thousands of pounds but there is actually a question mark over how structurally safe the building is."

Gareth Price, defending, said it seemed his client's behaviour was linked to his mental health and his reaction to a particular situation.