#AlanBarnes - Donations To Stop
The Gateshead Pensioner wants to thank EVERYONE who has donated
The online fund to help frail pensioner Alan Barnes after he was mugged outside his house in Gateshead has been halted by his grateful family.
Donations are currently at £329,000 and Katie Cutler, the young woman who set it up has said there'll be a presentation in due course where a cheque will be handed over to 67 year old Alan.
21 year old Katie wrote on the page:
"Good morning, after speaking with Alan & his family, they have asked me to stop any further donations to his fund. He is very grateful for all your love, support & donations. We will be having a little presentation to hand him his cheque so il keep you all updated."
As the fund comes to a halt Crimestoppers have offered a £5k reward for information leading to the arrest of the person who attacked Alan.
The incident occurred on the evening of Sunday January 25th when Alan was moving his wheelie bin from the side of his property, on Low Fell, Gateshead, to the front of the house.
He was approached by a man demanding money from him, and when telling his attacker he didn’t have any, was pushed to the ground, suffering a broken collarbone.
As a result of the attempted robbery, Alan is living with his sister and does not feel able to return to his home.
Director of Operations for Crimestoppers, Roger Critchell, said:
“This was a particularly cowardly attack on a very vulnerable individual while he was carrying out a household duty that we should all be able to do without fear of being attacked.
It’s rare for Crimestoppers to offer this level of reward for this type of incident, but because of the circumstances of the victim and the consequences of him not feeling he can return home, we wanted to offer this sum.
The victim is well known in the area, and I am appealing to the local community to speak up and tell us who was responsible for this cruel assault, safe in the knowledge you will remain anonymous and will never have to speak to the police. I ask you to do the right thing and help bring the victim some piece of mind.”
If you have any information on this crime then please contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or through our Anonymous Online Form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.