Appeal For Veteran After Thief Steals Life Savings
People across Leeds are helping restore a veteran's faith in humanity - after a thief stole the money he'd saved up to pay for his own funeral.
Hundreds of people across Leeds have donated to an appeal to help a veteran with terminal cancer - who's had his life savings stolen.
Jack Walker joined the Coldstream Guards in 1949 and served for 12 years. He'd saved up nearly £4000 so he'd be able to pay for his own funeral.
His friend Phil Lee, who’s also a former guardsman, decided to set up the fundraising page. He says it's not just about the money – even if people don’t donate, Phil would like to see people send cards to Jack to show that they care.
“It would be very simple to write a cheque of out for £3800 and there you go, but it actually doesn’t solve the real issue of trust, whereas if someone takes the time to write a card and say to Jack ‘thank you’ - nothing more than that … Let’s show this guy that he matters.
“Jack’s lost faith in people as a result of this my aim is to restore that trust. Genuinely there’s a lot more good out there and it’s really important that we overwhelm Jack with this concept of more good than bad.”
Phil says that Jack is a changed man since his money was taken.
“The Jack Walker that I’ve seen in the past wasn’t the Jack Walker that I saw last Friday – I saw an absolutely devastated and broken individual, as he was distraught and it was very upsetting for me to see this because there’s a really great human being behind that.”
Click here to visit the fundraising page and tweet your support to @radioairenews