ALMOST £90,000 has been recovered from an ex-council employee who stole from charities for the blind and disabled.
The former principal access officer, sacked by Chester City Council and later jailed for 20 months, had admitted in 2007 stealing £92,000 from the council and Chester Access Group, which ran the Chester Shopmobility scheme, hiring out scooters for disabled people.
During the case at Chester Crown Court, it was said Timothy Valentine Metcalfe, then 44, used the money to fund a “hedonistic” lifestyle involving gambling, alcohol, a series of girlfriends in Thailand and following Middlesbrough Football Club.
The Chester Access Group later suffered the consequences of a funding shortage, staff were not paid and the project eventually closed without a public liability insurance.
ŠShopmobility, which hires out scooters to the disabled, is now run by DIAL House with the aid of a £39,000 grant from Cheshire West and Chester Council.
As a result of Metcalfe’s actions, Shopmobility was put out to tender, resulting in a 50% hike in costs which meant there was no funding left to provide live commentary for the visually impaired at special events, no money to promote an organ donor scheme and no money for other access related services.
After months of investigation, Mr Metcalfe was traced and proceedings initiated through the County Court by Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Legal Services.
ŠInitially the action was defended but eventually Mr Metcalfe agreed to the retention of £89,000 from his Cheshire Pension Fund under the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations.
