Evicted man lived with pony in apartment

A janitor entering a newly vacated apartment in Östra Vemmerlöv in southern Sweden found himself confronted with the strong stench of urine, horse excrement and hay.

It later emerged that the man evicted for failure to pay the rent on his ground floor apartment had been living with a pony.

The 77 square metre apartment was also home to the man's partner, his adult son, a four-year-old daughter, three dogs and three cats. The living room was used as a stable, while the terrace doubled as a compost heap

The landlord, furious at the unauthorized use of his property, has reported the man to police and demanded compensation for the extensive renovations that lie ahead.

Police had previously received reports of cruelty to animals in the apartment but nothing was ever done. The landlord too suspected that something was not quite right but did not make the connection with the horse trailer parked outside.

"In my innocence I thought it was just there temporarily while the owner was home eating lunch", said owner Ove Ahlström.