POLICE arrested a 24-year-old woman on suspicion of running a brothel in Cowley.

A police raid came after inspections of a Rymers Lane property led Oxford City Council, officers to suspect it was an unlicensed house in multiple occupation.

Thames Valley Police said last night that the woman had been bailed until January 25.

Council officers became suspicious of the property following a complaint about rubbish in its garden, the authority said, and after an initial visit, returned with police officers last Tuesday.

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The occupiers refused to answer the door but police and council staff, armed with a search warrant, forced entry using an angle grinder.

A council spokesman said: “The inspection revealed that the property appeared to be being used as a brothel and was occupied as an unlicensed house in multiple occupation.”

Investigations into “a variety of alleged offences” were ongoing, the council said.

City council deputy leader Ed Turner said: “Catching this sort of alleged illegal activity is a benefit of having proactive work in our community to raise standards in rented housing.

"Obviously this was an extreme case, but I would encourage anyone with concerns about a property to contact the council.”

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