A MAN allegedly dropped a dead rat outside of his next door neighbour’s cafe after a “fallout”, a court heard.

Peter McKenny, 54, of Rainford Road, Windle denies leaving the rodent close to the kitchen door of Toast cafe in Dentons Green on the morning of Wednesday, May 2 last year.

As a trial began at Merseyside Magistrates’ Court yesterday (Friday, January 4), prosecutor Ronan Molloy said: “It is alleged on May 2 the defendant dropped a dead rodent and left it on Dentons Green Lane.

“The issue is of identification. The defendant denies he was the individual who dropped the rodent.

“It is the contention of the Crown through CCTV and witnesses we can prove this matter.”

In court, CCTV footage was played of a hooded man tipping a rat out of a white bag outside the cafe on Dentons Green Lane which the prosecution alleges was McKenny.

Footage purported to show McKenny walking his daughter to school around 20 minutes earlier was also played.

The court heard from six witnesses called by the prosecution, who had either viewed CCTV footage, or a recording of the incident posted on Facebook, who said they were in “no doubt” McKenny is the man depicted due to his clothing and "distinctive" manner of walking.

Giving evidence, Toast owner Lisa Whittle, a neighbour of McKenny’s, said she received a phone call while on a morning shop, from a cafe staff member to tell her a rat had been dropped outside the shop.

She said: “It is the third rat that we’ve had and I came straight back. We knew straight away who had done it. We had CCTV installed after two rats were dropped last year.”

Mrs Whittle, who has been a neighbour of the defendant for around 10 years, says she watched CCTV footage and “saw Mr McKenny walk past the shop”.

She also shared a mobile phone recording of the footage on Facebook in July.

Mrs Whittle said she recognised McKenny by a “quite distinctive” manner of walking with his left arm raised because he has “had a stroke” and has a set of keys “hanging from his belt”.

On examination from defence solicitor Christopher Mantle, Mrs Whittle acknowledged there had been a “fallout” with McKenny “for certain reasons” and she claimed he had “gone out of his way to make our lives a misery”.

Mr Mantle suggested Mrs Whittle “had already decided that it must have been Mr McKenny” before viewing the footage.

He contended the phone recording posted on Facebook was of “even poorer quality” and that “facial features” could not be seen due to being covered.

He said: “There is no way of being able to positively identify Mr McKenny.”

Magistrates adjourned the case until Monday, January 14. The trial continues.