A KINKY TELEPHONE PEST, WHO FOR YEARS HAD WHISPER

A KINKY TELEPHONE PEST, WHO FOR YEARS HAD WHISPERED

BONDAGE THREATS WHILE WEARING A LONG BLONDE WIG AND WOMEN’S CLOTHING,

WAS FINALLY CAUGHT AFTER PUTTING VISCOUNT DILHORNE’S WIFE AND

CHILDREN THROUGH A BIZARRE BLACKMAIL ORDEAL.

BUT IT WAS NOT MONEY DAVID CURDS WAS AFTER.

THE 25

YEAR OLD LONDON TRANSPORT BUS CONDUCTOR WAS A SECRET TRANSVESTITE

WITH A FIXATION ABOUT GAGS AND BONDAGE, AN OLD BAILEY JUDGE WAS TOLD

ON FRIDAY.

QUIVERING WITH EXCITEMENT HE DEMANDED THAT HIS VICTIMS

SHOULD BE TIED UP AND THAT A FULL DESCRIPTION OF THE WAY THEY WERE

BOUND BE RELAYED TO HIM OVER THE TELEPHONE.

AFTER A RANDOM SEARCH OF THE TELEPHONE DIRECTORY HE RANG

VISCOUNT DILHORNE, 53, AT HIS EBURY STREET, VICTORIA, HOME ON

SUNDAY OCT 27 LAST YEAR.

THE SIX-FOOT NINE INCHES TALL PEER, WHO IS A BARRISTER AND

OPERA SINGER, WAS WORKING IN HIS STUDY

CURDS TOLD HIM: ‘YOUR SON HAS BEEN KIDNAPPED.

HE IS BEING

HELD AT KNIFEPOINT.

HE IS GAGGED AND BOUND WITH A LADIES SCARF

AND ROPES.

‘

HE DEMANDED TO KNOW WHERE THE VISCOUNT’S WIFE, SUZANNAH,

WAS AND ON BEING TOLD THAT SHE WAS RETURNING HOME VERY SHORTLY CURDS

‘WENT INTO A WEALTH OF DETAIL’ ABOUT HOW SHE WAS TO BE TIED UP, SAID

MR ALUN JONES, PROSECUTING.

IT WAS ALMOST AS AN AFTERTHOUGHT THAT HE MENTIONED THAT HE

WANTED A #5,000 RANSOM.

IN ANOTHER PHONE CALL THAT SAME EVENING CURDS ALSO TOLD

THE VISCOUNT THAT HE HAD TO BIND AND GAG HIS STEP DAUGHTER, VIRGINIA.

AND HE WANTED TO KNOW EXACTLY HOW IT WAS BEING DONE.

TO CONVINCE HIM, VIRGINIA PUT A TEA TOWEL OVER HER MOUTH

AND MUMBLED SOMETHING TO HIM OVER THE TELEPHONE, THE COURT HEARD

.

MR JONES SAID THE FAMILY WERE PUT TO A LOT OF ANXIETY AND

DISTRESS BY THE BLACKMAIL THREATS.

THE VISCOUNT TRIED TO RING HIS

SON, AN OFFICER IN THE WELSH GUARDS, AT HIS LONDON HOME BUT THERE

WAS NO REPLY.

WHAT THEY DID NOT KNOW WAS THAT HE WAS AWAY FOR THE

WEEKEND WITH HIS WIFE IN HAMPSHIRE AND DID NOT RETURN UNTIL 3 AM ON

THE MONDAY MORNING.

WHEN THEY FINALLY CONTACTED HIM ON THE PHONE, THEY REALISED

THAT THE WHOLE EPISODE WAS A NASTY HOAX.

POLICE ADVISED THE FAMILY TO MAKE UP A PACKAGE TO LOOK AS

THOUGH IT WAS THE RANSOM PAYMENT.

IT WAS LEFT, AS INSTRUCTED, IN A

SERVICE ROAD NEAR CURD’S HOME IN HERTFORD ROAD, EDMONTON.

WHEN HE STARTED TO OPEN THE PACKAGE WITH A KNIFE HE WAS

GRABBED.

THE COURT HEARD HE IMMEDIATELY COLLAPSED INTO AN

APOLOGETIC HEAP.

‘I’M SORRY, I’M SORRY,’ HE REPEATED.

‘PLEASE TELL THE MAN

I’M SORRY.

‘

WHEN HIS ROOM AT HIS PARENT’S HOME WAS SEARCHED POLICE

FOUND THE BLONDE WIG AND MANY ITEMS OF WOMEN’S CLOTHING.

CURDS ADMITTED HE HAD BEEN MAKING BLACKMAIL THREATS SINCE

1982.

ON FIVE OCCASIONS HE RANG PEOPLE AND PRETENDED HE HAD

KIDNAPPED, BOUND AND GAGGED MEMBERS OF THEIR FAMILY.

HE TOLD AN ISLINGTON WOMAN HE WAS HOLDING HER HUSBAND, A

HAMPSTEAD DOCTOR THAT HE HAD KIDNAPPED HIS SON AND TOLD THREE OTHER

VICTIMS HE HELD THEIR EIGHT YEAR OLD DAUGHTERS.

THE THREATS WERE NOT TAKEN SERIOUSLY BECAUSE CURDS HAD

GOT HIS DETAILS WRONG.

HIS GUESS THAT VISCOUNT DILHORNE HAD A SON WAS THE FIRST

TIME HE HAD BEEN RIGHT, SAID MR JONES.

AND WHAT MADE IT WORSE FOR

THE PEER’S FAMILY WAS THAT FOR HOURS THEY WERE UNABLE TO CONTACT THE

YOUNG SOLDIER.

CURDS, WHO PLEADED GUILTY TO BLACKMAIL, WAS GIVEN A TWO

YEAR SUSPENDED SENTENCE.

JUDGE ROBERT LYMBERY QC ALSO MADE A SUPERVISION ORDER AND

HE ADVISED CURDS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OFFERS OF MEDICAL HELP TO GET

RID OF HIS FANTASY FIXATION.

ENDS