A LETTING agency has let TV cameras go behind the scenes to reveal the challenging experiences its staff have to face.

Darwen-based Ainsworth Lord Estates featured in an eight-part documentary on Channel 5 called ‘Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords’ and looks into the word of letting.

The first episode, which aired on Monday, followed the agency’s owner, Paul Ainsworth-Lord, on what was supposed to be a quick chat with a tenant, but became a volatile confrontation which included death threats and foul language.

The episode shows Mr Ainsworth-Lord visiting a rented house to talk to the tenant, Dean Pickard, about rent arrears.

After initially posing under a false name and denying he lived at the house, Mr Pickard told Mr Ainsworth-Lord the rent would be paid a week later.

Mr Ainsworth-Lord returned with landlord Steve Dixon to conduct an inspection and Mr Pickard was refused entry into the house.

The programme showed Dean become aggressive, threatening to “flog” him and calling him a “cripple.”

Mr Ainsworth had battled with an aggressive form of cancer when he was 13 and resulted in him having most of his pelvis removed and uses a walking stick to help him walk.

On the show, Mr Ainsworth said: “He stooped low and start making personal comments about how I walk.

“Fortunately I battled an aggressive disease, at least I can walk.

“I didn’t think I would be able to walk again.”

The situation developed and the landlord wanted Dean to be removed from the house and resulted in Mr Ainsworth-Lord serving him with an eviction notice.

This resulted in a confrontation and the programme showed Mr Pickard swearing into Mr Ainsworth-Lord’s face and threatening to assault him.

Speaking to the Lancashire Telegraph, Mr Ainsworth-Lord said: “Thinking back now it was scary.

“I wasn’t nervous at the time but when you reflect on it you realise he might have done something.

“We have more than 800 tenants in our business and it's a tiny per cent who behave in this way.”

Following the confrontation, owed rent was paid and Dean entered negotiations with the company about surrendering his tenancy.

Mr Pickard claimed the show had 'portrayed him in a bad light'.

The next episode will air on Channel 5 at 9pm on Monday June10.