Council chiefs have been forced to defend themselves after they were accused of “doing nothing” to make a Grenfell-style tower block safe.

Slough Borough Council took over the company that owns Nova House, in Buckingham Gardens, after it was discovered shortly after the Grenfell Tower disaster that its cladding was similarly flammable.

The building failed a number of failed numerous fire tests in the wake of the 2017 blaze which killed dozens of people and injured hundreds.

Now, on the second anniversary of the tragedy, SBC has been accused of not removing the flammable cladding on Nova House, with residents telling talkRADIO the block remains a “death trap”.

Resident Peter Bothwell told the radio station: “They've done absolutely nothing. If they cared, work would have begun long ago.

“Every day I play Russian roulette and say to myself ‘there won't be a fire’ – but all the residents of Grenfell must have felt the same.”

The building was converted into flats from offices in 2015 and failed a number of fire safety tests, with SBC saying its steel structure is designed to be fire resistant for just 30 minutes, as required of office blocks, rather than the 90 minutes required of residential properties.

SBC spokesman Kate Pratt said the council bought the freeholding company, Ground Rent Estates 5 Ltd, so it could run the building itself after it failed numerous fire tests following the Grenfell disaster.

She said: “We’ve brought in a private fire company to keep an eye on things in the building because that’s how bad it was.

“But their job isn’t to put out fires – they have to initiate a safe evacuation and get residents out of the building while the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service gets there.

“We have installed heat detectors in the property so there can be early indications of any problems and there are two members of the private fire company in the building at all times.

“The safety of the people who live there has been our priority. This is just one of the many problems with this building and a programme is being put in place to tackle the issues. We have been keeping in touch with residents throughout.”