Licensee turns to Facebook to help capture pub conman
Jon Hutchings of the White Hart Hotel in Holsworthy, Devon, said that he set up the page after seeing a report on the fraudster on BBC TV’s Crimewatch Roadshow.
The man, David Brown, has been known to use different names when targeting venues. He visits pubs with accommodation across the country, runs up a bar bill and then leaves without paying for his stay or the bar tab.
The Facebook page reads: “David Brown conned me and hundreds of other licensees. After being found guilty, he is now out of prison and fleecing more pubs. Help spread the word so you don’t get caught out!”
Hutchings told the PMA: “There were a few different licensees communicating on Facebook about this, so I thought, ‘how do we get people to know about this?’
“I looked into the Facebook rules and set up this page. I’ve only posted facts that have been reported, such as in PMA articles, the Crimewatch video and other local stories. I want to make people aware of this guy.
“We need to get people to ‘like’ the page so that other people see it and pass it on. I’ve sent a link to some pubs mentioned in the articles.”
So far, the page has 50 ‘likes’ and seen 400 hits.
After being targeted by Brown, Hutchings trailed him to his next target’s pub, the Black Horse in Torrington, Devon, where Brown was arrested. In October, he was sent to prison for eight months.
