Two care homes are facing the axe after inspectors found vulnerable residents living in unacceptable conditions.

Inspectors have served notices on Glenluce Care Home, Jaywick, and Bruntsfield House, Clacton, after they found beds soiled or littered with cigarettes, and excrement on the floor or doors.

Care watchdog the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) found that standards at both properties were well below the minimum requirements for cleanliness, food quality, staffing and management, and many residents were bored.

Inspectors spent 15 hours at Glenluce Care Home, in Flowers Way.

The home, managed by Bayon, was saved from closure in 2006 when standards improved temporarily.

It was served a closure notice last week after inspectors found, on their last visit, conditions had again deteriorated and were below an acceptable standard.

A CSCI spokesman said: "We believed that the poor standards of care at the Glenluce Care Home posed a serious risk to the safety and welfare of the vulnerable people who lived there.

"We would like to emphasise that the conditions at Glenluce did not reflect the good standards of care that are provided by the majority of care homes."

Closure is also being proposed for Bruntsfield House, in Wellesley Road, which cares for 21 residents with mental disorders.

On their last visit in July 2007, inspectors found one bedroom was littered with cigarettes and its occupant was sleeping on a bare mattress with just a blanket, while two other bedrooms were dirty, and smelled.

Staff were untrained, there was a lack of fresh fruit and vegetables, and an assault on a resident had not been reported.

Toilets, kitchens and carpets were dirty and in one toilet excrement and urine were left on the floor.

Essex County Council social services often refers people to privately-run care homes. A spokesman said it would not comment on individual cases.

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