Rats chewed through children's drawings in squalid Derbyshire house owned by 'rogue' landlord

A rogue landlord from Derbyshire rented out a rat-infested house to a family whose children found bite marks caused by the vermin on their drawings.

Derby Crown Court heard how council inspectors who went to the property owned by Martin Ambler discovered droppings on a mattress, mould, damp, faulty doors and windows.

There was also a water leak caused by the pests chewing through the pipes at that address.

In a victim impact statement, the tenant told how his children missed school due to health problems caused by the conditions and how he has "gone back to drinking after being sober for 16 years".

Also being rented out in the same street was another house which had metal shutters attached to the windows, meaning that tenant had no natural light.

And the front garden of a third became "a dumping ground" for fly tipping which Ambler failed to clear up.

Deferring sentence until January 6, 2023, Judge Jonathan Bennett said:

"You are what might be described as a 'rogue landlord,' someone with a cavalier approach."

"The cracks and the gaps in the windows, the pipes which were damaged by rats was your responsibility and you were taking in money paid by the taxpayer through housing benefit."

Chris Machin, prosecuting, said Ambler jointly-owned 19 properties in West Lea, Clowne, along with his mother and still owns nine of them. He said:

"One tenant was renting at £433 per month and at the time there were metal shutters over the windows.

"This caused excess cold and there was no natural light. Another address (in the same street) had a rat infestation and a water leak and there were major defects at the property.

"There were bite marks in (the victim's) children's drawings, there was damp, mould and a water leak caused by rats chewing through a water pipe. (The council received) 131 complaints about waste."

58-year old Ambler, of Vincent Lane, Brampton, Chesterfield, pleaded guilty to four counts of breaching a criminal behaviour order charges relating to storing or disposing of waste on open land; renting out a property which was subject to a Category 1 Hazard as defined by the Housing Act 2004; and failing to monitor and maintain land under his control.

Dan Scothern, mitigating, said his client is a father-of-three who also cares for his dementia-suffering mother.

He said the defendant has now sold all three of the properties involved in the charges. He said:

"He holds his hands up and says he did not do enough as a landlord. Covid-19 made it more difficult to get workmen in and to get the waste cleared.

"Mr Ambler did take some form of action but these did not go far enough. Immediate custody would have a significant and harmful impact - his youngest child is six and has severe haemophilia."

Under the terms of the deferment, Judge Bennett ordered Ambler to instruct housing experts or a management company to inspect and provide a report on all the properties he owns.

He also ordered him to commit no further offences and to provide full financial information about his accounts.

Judge Bennett said if he successfully manages that he would suspended by prison term he was thinking about imposing.

He handed Ambler, who was accompanied by his wife in court, bail until January 6, 2023.