A fire boss is investigated for allegedly lying about having a masters degree and having played for Charlton Athletic when applying for his £180,000-a-year job.

Wayne Brown was hired as the chief of the West Midlands Fire Service a year ago after impressing superiors with his Master of Business Administration degree from London South Bank University.

But his alleged alma mater has now confirmed that there is no record of Brown’s degree, which the fire chief has since removed from the listed qualifications on his LinkedIn account.

Brown also claimed to have been a former pro footballer for Charlton Athletic. But it has since been revealed that he only played as part of the youth training scheme at the club and not in the pro division.

‘Wayne is by no means popular. He ­disappeared on January 7 and nobody has heard from him,’ an insider told the Sun and added that the chief was often seen around the stations, where is a ‘prominent’ figure. 

The insider also said about the fire boss who takes home £180,000 per year: ‘Some of us are wearing second-hand equipment and haven’t had a pay rise, but he turns up to work in a new Range Rover.’

Brown was part of the London Fire Brigade for 27 years until he switched to the West Midlands service in 2019, where he was Deputy Chief Fire Officer before his promotion last January.

The fire service has confirmed that they are looking into the allegations that he lied about having a master’s degree in a formal inquiry – if it is found that Brown lied about his qualification, this could amount to fraud by false representation.

In a statement, West Midlands Fire Service said: ‘We are aware of claims referencing our Chief Fire Officer and West Midlands Fire Service.

‘Formal enquiries and processes, in line with our Fire Authority’s constitution, are now ongoing in relation to the matters raised. We will undertake this thoroughly and fairly. In the meantime, we will not be commenting further.’