- Alan Barnes, 67, has suffered growth and sight problems since birth
- He was taking his bin out on Sunday night when he was set upon
- Violent mugger pushed him to the ground, breaking his collar bone
- Katie Cutler heard about attack and set up a fundraising site to help him
- She aimed to raise £500 to help him move house but it's reached £70,000
A disabled pensioner who was targeted by a violent mugger has expressed his surprise after a stranger's fundraising effort tops more than £70,000.
Alan Barnes, who was born with growth problems and is now partially sighted, was knocked to the ground as he put his bins outside his home in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, on Sunday.
When local resident Katie Cutler heard about the shocking attack - which left Mr Barnes with a broken collar bone and scared to return home - she set up a fund to help the 67-year-old.
Partially-sighted Alan Barnes (left) was left with a broken collar bone after he was attacked by a mugger. Well-wishers have now donated £70,000 to a fund set up to help his recovery set up by Katie Cutler (right)
Mr Barnes, speaking on BBC Breakfast this morning about the donations, said: 'I just don't believe it.
'I've heard of fundraising for charities but I've only got a fractured collar bone. I didn't expect this response.
'Thank you doesn't seem to answer it really. It's unbelievable it's happened.'
At its latest count, the Alan Barnes Fund on website Go Fund Me reached £70,000 in just two days, with donations of up to £1,000-a-time coming in from as far afield as Canada and Holland.
Ms Cutler, 21, also from Gateshead, had set up the site with the aim of raising £500 to help Mr Barnes with the costs of moving house, after hearing he was too scared to return home.
She said: 'I had just put my daughter to bed when I came across Alan's story on Wednesday night and I was really upset by what I had read.
'Alan obviously can't defend himself and he must have been so afraid. He comes across as such a quiet, timid, man and I can't imagine how this must have affected him.
'I wanted to do something to help so I went online to set up a fundraising page. I had heard that he was too afraid to go back to his old house so I thought raising a few hundred pound might help him to find somewhere new.'
She told broadcasters this morning: 'I'm over the moon at the amount we've raised in two days.
'I've got a guy who owns a company that fits bathrooms and kitchens and he's offered his services to kit Alan him out with a new kitchen and bathroom.
'We've got carpet fitters, plumbers, electricians - people who are donating furniture.'
Ms Cutler, who runs her own beauticians, 'With Love Gracie', named after her two-year-old, added: 'I have hardly slept since I set the page up because my phone is buzzing all the time with donations pouring in.
'It's so awful what has happened to Alan and I hope that the donations do keep coming so that he can experience something positive from this horrible experience.
Ms Cutler (pictured with boyfriend John Cunnungham and their daughter Gracie) says she has been amazed by the amounts people have been willing to donate
'I am sure that the police will catch whoever did this and they will be brought to justice.'
Mr Barnes added: 'I would really just like to say thank you to everyone, I really didn't expect it.
'When I was told about the fund, I was totally surprised as I didn't expect anything like that. I'm so grateful and I just want to say a big thank you, it's such a lovely thing to do.
'I have heard of people setting up funds for charities but not just for what happened to me. I'm overwhelmed and I just want to say thank you.'
The pair are planning to meet for the first time tomorrow at the home of his sister, Carol Hill, where he is currently staying.
Speaking about what she will do with the money raised, she said she has been contacted by several different financial advisers but plans to discuss the details when she meets Mr Barnes.
More than 5,500 people have donated using the page so far, many of whom left messages of support for Mr Barnes.
Nadeem Inayat wrote on the donation page: 'I was very upset to have read that such a defenceless and frail old man was left feeling afraid to go back to his home that for all intents and purposes should be his haven and source of safety.
'I hope someone reads some of these comments to Alan and let him know that he is a very much loved man.'
Frail Mr Barnes was pushing his bin from the back of his home to the front at around 6.30pm on Sunday night when he was targeted. He was knocked to the ground, breaking his collar bone as he landed.
The mugger demanded money and searched Mr Barnes' pockets before realising his stricken victim was not carrying cash and fleeing.
Mr Barnes stumbled to the house next door where his neighbour called his sister Carol Hill, who rushed over and took her brother to hospital, where X-rays revealed the fractured collar bone.
Mr Barnes, a committed Christian, said: 'Someone just jumped on me. It all happened in a very short time. I would like to see him caught because he might do it again.
'I didn't see him coming. He must have jumped on me from a back garden.
'He pushed me down and put his hands in my pockets, then told me to give him my money, but I didn't have any.
'I shouted 'help' and then he ran off. As soon as he had gone I got up, and I knew I had been hurt.'
Mr Barnes's broken collar-bone will take nearly two months to heal, in which time he will need special care.
He added: 'I'm just frustrated now that I can't do anything for myself. They say it will take four to six weeks for me to recover.
They must have seen Alan as an easy target. Whoever has done this has no morals at all to attack someone so vulnerable
Mr Barnes's sister Carol Hill
'I'm trying to do the best I can. I can manage to get a bath if someone puts the water in. But I can't tie my shoelaces.'
Ms Hill is furious that anyone would stoop so low as to attack her frail brother.
The 55-year-old said: 'The police seem to think it was a random opportunist attack. But they must have seen Alan as an easy target.
'I was furious. Whoever has done this has no morals at all to attack someone so vulnerable.'
Mr Barnes is well known in the area around his home and is an active member of the congregation at his local Methodist church. He fills his days taking long walks around the area.
He is known as a skilled mathematician and impresses youngsters by being able to quickly work out exactly how many days a person has been alive after finding out when they were born.
Mr Barnes is now too frightened to return to his home, and Ms Hill is helping her brother look for new accommodation.
His sister believes he was targeted because he is an 'easy target'. Police are appealing for information
Detectives hunting the would-be robber have branded the crime 'disgraceful'.
Det Con Chris Neil, of Gateshead CID, said: 'This was a cowardly assault on a vulnerable man who wasn't able to defend himself.
'His disability means he is partially sighted and quite short and it's disgraceful that someone would target him.
'The victim is quite a well-known man in the area and this has left him extremely distressed.
'We're doing everything we can to trace the suspect and I would urge anyone who saw this attempted robbery or who has information about the person responsible to get in touch.'
Locals have launched a fund to help Mr Barnes and have so far raised more than £1,400, which they plan to give to the pensioner to make his house more secure or to help him move home.
Anyone with any information should target Northumbria Police quoting log number 1180 25/01/15 or the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
No comments:
Post a Comment