A Kenton care home has been rated a fire hazard and amongst the worst in the country by a report from the social care watchdog.

The Roseland Care Home, in Draycott Avenue, got zero stars out of three in a report by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI), an independent group set up by the Government to inspect adult care homes.

Only three per cent of the 24,370 homes reviewed in England fall into this 'poor' category.

The CSCI report, released last week, concluded the home's environment and management were well below standard.

The inspector found fire doors were often wedged open and bedroom doors did not have smoke seals or door closers, which meant a fire would spread easily through the building.

Tony Lawrence, the lead inspector, wrote: "There is an urgent need to improve standards of fire safety in the home to make sure that residents and staff are safe." The last recorded fire drill was held in August 2007.

When the unannounced inspection was made in February, one bedroom smelt strongly of urine, and there were many concerns about the bathrooms and toilets.

The report said: "These areas were bare and institutional in appearance. In the first floor bathroom there was a bath with high sides that some residents would find difficult to climb over."

The toilet seat was loose and the cistern broken. However, in the areas of health and personal care, complaints and protection of the residents, the home had a good quality score.

The home, which currently has nine residents, has been registered with the commission since December 1994.

Coral Lake, the manager, said that she felt the report was unfair.

She said: "I am not happy with the report. I understood the poor rating when I first got here as it was a shambles, but I have worked very hard since

I joined the home two years ago. We can only do one thing at a time, last year we re-fitted all the carpets and did the garden.

"One of the recommendations wasthat we have staff meetings, but it's a small staff team and most of them are part time and have other jobs, so it's difficult to get them all together at the same time."

The owner of the home, Jerome Manuel, stated in the report that he is reviewing his involvement in the business and may sell the home.