The Laurels, on Warley Road, North Shore, which looks after elderly people with dementia, has been given a poor rating by the Commission for Social Care Inspection.

It stated some practices were "placing the health and well-being of residents at unnecessary risk".

In recent inspections, carried out by the CSCI, the home was given a rating of zero stars out of three for its standards.

The care home is now being investigated by Blackpool Council, which has a number of residents under its care placed there.

A spokesman for the CSCI said: "We carried out two inspections in June and early July and the result was the home was given a poor rating.

"We are not happy with the home and have asked for an improvement plan, which they have said they are going to provide to us."

A report produced as a result of the inspections, spoke of "very low staffing", lack of choice for residents and stated "the quality of life for residents in the home is not good."

It added "some poor practice when administering and recording medicines is placing the health and well-being of residents at unnecessary risk."

Although the inspectors found staff to be "kindly and well-meaning", it said they were not always knowledgeable about the needs of patients with dementia.

It described how on the inspection, one song was played over and over for 45 minutes in the lounge.

Inspectors said they were concerned night staff were being told to get residents up in the morning and as night staff finished their shift at 8am, some residents had been getting up "very early."

The report stated: "The environment is not a pleasant, inviting, clean or hygienic place for residents to live in."

It talked of dirty windows, peeling paintwork, dirty bathrooms and a urine-stained divan.

It added the home "looked generally uncared for" - adding this was "not surprising as the carers are carrying out cleaning and laundry, as well as looking after the residents".

A spokeswoman for Blackpool Council confirmed it was carrying out an investigation into the home, which was still on-going.

Former employee aLee Andrews, who has worked as a nurse for 16 years, said The Laurels was "the worst he had ever seen".

Mr Andrews, 31, of North Shore, said: "There were no laundry or cleaning staff and if you were on duty on the night shift, you were expected to do the cleaning and ironing and so on, when you were supposed to be looking after the residents.

"I complained to the manager about it and just kept getting told things would be sorted out. But they never were and eventually, four weeks ago, I had enough and I left."