A former friend of Jamie Varley who worked in the same high-school as him revealed his mask slipped after a night out — when a colleague threatened to phone the police on him.

Varley is now serving a whole life order for abusing and murdering little Preston Davey — and one of his ex-pals has opened up about how his evil crimes have made life difficult for people who were closely associated with him.

His former friend and colleague, Elaine, said she has been targeted because of the relationship, and she has now spoken on the Break The Ice channel to set the record straight so she can move on with her life.

During the emotional discussion, Elaine talked about how she met Varley — and how his actions after what should have been a routine and enjoyable work night out showed his true manipulative colours.

The pair met 14 years ago when Elaine worked for the police as a school PCSO (Police Community Support Officer) — and she said Varley was originally a technician before becoming a teacher.

Elaine also became a head of year 11 for a non-teaching role and shared an office with Varley.

“That’s how I met him and as a friendship group, we were a small group and we would socialise together,” she said. “You know, tea out, drinks at each other’s houses etc. That’s how I knew him.”

Asked whether they were close, she replied: “He was that annoying friend that I would roll my eyes at things. You know, about his behaviour and things. But that was just what he was like, that annoying friend. You didn’t expect this to be the outcome… it has been absolutely horrendous.”

She added: “I’ll give you an example, over the years, never once has he ever rang me up and asked if I’m okay. He was that kind of friend. It was always about him.”

Elaine said this included when she had bowel surgery. Varley was the one pal who never bothered to ask how she was doing.

She said he started off as a “fun friend” in a friendship group made up of six people.

However, Elaine soon discovered that drama followed Varley, and it became something that she could no longer tolerate.

And speaking about how his mask slipped after a night out, she said: “I remember him coming to work one day and he kind of like rushes over to me and this has completely drained me all over. He has to tell six different people different stories.

“So he comes over to me, you know, ‘I didn’t drink drive last night… I didn’t. I didn’t.’

“And I was like, ‘I don’t know what’s going on Jamie?’ It was a work do and I had not gone to it’.”

According to Elaine, it turned out that Varley had drank and drove after the party, but instead of owning up to it, he then drove back the following day, and took a picture of his parked car, to supposedly prove that he hadn’t.

She continued: “Well, it was witnessed by two colleagues. The colleague had said, ‘If I would have had charge on my phone, I would have been ringing the police.’ You know, just everything was a drama.

“Like, suck it up, you know, but then to go out of his way to then manipulate and then go and actually drive his car back to the same area to then take a photo, that’s the kind of person he was, or is.”

Elaine said Varley was an “absolute a***hole” but that she could never have imagined that he was capable of suffocating 13-month old Preston, who he adopted four months before his brutal death.

The tot was found with 40 internal and external injuries and his adoptive dad claimed he had drowned in the bath. His boyfriend, John McGowan-Fazakerley, who lived with Varley in their home in Blackpool, Lancashire, was handed a 25-year sentence for his role in the horrific abuse.

She also revealed that Varley phoned her after he had already murdered the little boy. “Preston had passed away and I didn’t know and he rang me up and said ‘I’m moving to Preston,’” she recalled.

“And I said, ‘Oh, have you got a new job?’ And he said, ‘No, I’m going to commute to work.’

“That was him testing to know whether I knew anything about Preston’s murder.”

Despite finding Varley annoying, Elaine did say he was simply “one of the girls”, but he would often turn up at her house uninvited before outstaying his welcome.

Elaine, who said she hopes Varley suffers in prison, also said he could be bossy, rude, self–absorbed and obstructive but that she could never have envisaged him being a monster.

And defending herself from the abuse she has received since his conviction, she said: “I’m not this horrible person for knowing him and I just want to get on with the rest of my life.”