The sinister truth behind Birmingham’s bogus rat infestation scam, as revealed by a con artist

A conman posed as a pest control officer as he told elderly and vulnerable residents there was a rat infestation in their street. Serial thief David Payne knocked on people’s doors in the Stechford area, asking to be let in.

The 42-year-old claimed “hundreds” of rats were found in mattresses at neighbours’ addresses and demanded cash payments to put down poison or remove rubbish. He threatened one victim that she could be fined £12,000 if she refused to let him in.

But it was all a cynical ruse as Payne targeted people to pay off their own drug debt and feed their addiction. He admitted three counts of burglary, one count of attempted burglary and two counts of fraud by forgery.

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Payne, of Broad Heath Croft Shard End, was sentenced to three years and nine months at Birmingham Crown Court on Thursday, May 9. Recorder Dave Mason KC said: “These are very serious offences, particularly burglaries targeting the elderly. the effect these burglaries had on the victims.

“Therefore, he had to move home. I’m afraid I don’t watch these burglaries.”

On December 16 last year, at around 4pm, Payne targeted an elderly disabled lady who lived alone in the Sheldon area. Prosecutor Jas Dhaliwal said: “She opened the front door to speak to the defendant. He was dressed in black and said he was from a company that dealt with rat infestations.

“He said rats were all over the area and under the mattresses. He asked to come in. She let him in and thought it was genuine.”

Payne asked the woman for £30 to cut back some bushes in her garden, but he got scared and left when he saw a camera had been set up in her living room. The victim said the incident left her “sad and angry”.

On Boxing Day he tried the same trick again at another address only for the occupant to refuse his request to come inside. Mr Dhaliwal said: “The defendant was very insistent and said he had been to every other house and found the mattresses with hundreds of rats underneath.

“He pointed to objects in neighbours’ gardens which attract rats and threatened her with a £12,000 fine if she did not allow him in. He said a neighbor was fined for refusing entry.”

Payne eventually left, but on January 12 this year he also managed to swindle an elderly man out of £50 to clean up rubbish and throw rat poison, but did neither. He struck again at another property the next day, demanding £45 from someone, but was disturbed by the victim’s daughter and son-in-law, who admitted it was a scam.

Later that day, Payne repeated the same lies about a neighbour’s rat-infested mattress in Stechford and demanded £30 to put poison down the garden. The victim gave him £40 and asked for change, but the crook took the money and never returned.

Payne targeted his last victim in Hodge Hill in a similar manner for £50 on January 22 but left his DNA at the scene. He was arrested eight days later and confessed to police that he was addicted to alcohol and cocaine. He claimed he did not remember where he was at the meetings in question and denied he was the man captured in the CCTV footage.

Joseph Keating, defending, said Payne was remorseful and offered to write letters to each victim. He told the court his client was living with and looking after his sister when he bumped into his ex-drug dealer, who told him his £1,000 debt had ballooned to £1,800. The dealer also reportedly warned that he “hoped nothing happened” about his sister.

Mr Keating said: “It’s no excuse and no justification, but it just gives the background to why this started. He was stressed, started using drugs again, and earlier this year was partially paying off his debt and feeding his own. addiction.”