A waitress snared a bogus landlord who ripped her off in a rent deposit scam by luring him on a “fake date”.

Otilija Baublyte, 24, hatched the “honey trap” sting after handing £1,000 to Atiqul Islam to secure an east London flat that she later discovered he did not own.

Snaresbrook Crown Court heard how Islam, 22, would contact househunters on Gumtree and show them around council-owned properties whose tenants were looking to swap.

He would then disappear with his victims’ deposit money, and ignore their desperate phone calls when they realised they had been conned.

Miss Baublyte told the Standard: “It felt so good to catch him, I felt like a hero.

“I was not even thinking about the money, I just wanted to stop him before he could do the same to other people.”

Lithuanian Miss Baublyte had been in London for two months working as a waitress at St Ermin’s Hotel in Victoria when she was targeted in September last year.

She had placed an advert on Gumtree looking for a flat and Islam contacted her.

He showed her around a two-bedroom flat in Stratford whose tenants had been tricked into thinking he was arranging a council house swap.

The property was “perfect”, but after taking Miss Baublyte’s £1,000 deposit Islam delayed arranging her moving-in date and handing over the keys.

When she went to the flat in Chobham Road to arrange a moving-in date herself, the confused tenant told her she had no intention of leaving, the court heard.

Miss Buablyte hatched the plan to expose Islam when he ignored her dozens of calls and text messages.

She said: “I kept calling him but his phone was always off. Then one night very late after work he answered it.

“I didn’t mention the money or the flat, I said I’d broken up with my boyfriend and he seemed like a nice guy when I had met him.

“He sounded a little bit drunk. I told him I wanted to meet him and I tried to flirt with him and keep him talking.

“My plan was to meet him and catch him, so we arranged to meet the next day.”

Islam arrived at the arranged meeting spot outside Maryland station in Stratford, wearing jeans, a tracksuit top and a baseball hat.

Miss Baublyte went equipped with a hidden camera, with her 26-year-old boyfriend and her brother secretly in tow.

She recorded their conversation as Islam asked her: “Do you want to eat somewhere? There’s a Nando’s over there.”

He then suggested they go to a cashpoint so he could collect the next month’s rent.

At that point, the two men emerged from hiding and demanded he return the deposit money.

The incident attracted the attention of British Transport Police on patrol nearby, who rushed over to intervene.

Islam was arrested when the trio explained the ruse.

A search of Islam’s home in Torrens Road, Stratford, uncovered deposits for other victims including Mohammed Chowdhury who was duped out of £500.

Miss Baublyte added: “It was funny because I could never get hold of him and he said he was always late for things. But he turned up on time for the date.

“I was never scared. I just wanted to catch him.”

Miss Baublyte said: “People should be careful about finding flats and never give your money over before being given the keys. That was my mistake.

“The flat was very simple but it was good and only £1,000 a month when most other flats were £1,300. So it was perfect.”

Passing sentence yesterday, Recorder Alan Newman told Islam he had come “very close” to prison.

He was handed a suspended six month prison sentence and ordered to undertake 150 hours of unpaid work after admitting two charges of fraud by false representation.

He must also pay £1,500 in compensation to his victims, £220 prosecution costs and a victim surcharge of £80.

The judge said: “I hope to never see you again. You were very close to going to prison.”