Money floods in for the victim of Britain's most cowardly thug: Beautician's fund-raising campaign raises more than £50,000 in a DAY for disabled 4ft 6in pensioner targeted by mugger
The woman behind a campaign which has seen more than £50,000 donated for a disabled pensioner who was attacked outside his home says she felt compelled to act when she heard about the sickening crime.
Alan Barnes - who was born with growth problems and is now partially sighted, weighs just six stone and is 4ft 6in tall - was knocked to the ground as he put his bin outside his home in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear.
When local resident Katie Cutler heard about the shocking attack - which left Mr Barnes with a broken collar bone - she set up a fund to help the 67-year-old.
The Alan Barnes Fund on website Go Fund Me has now reached £50,000 with donations of up to £1,000-a-time coming in from around the world.
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Partially-sighted Alan Barnes was left with a broken collar bone after he was attacked by a mugger outside his home. Well-wishers have now donated £50,000 to a fund set up to help his recovery set up by Katie Cutler
Ms Cutler, 21, also from Gateshead, 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.
'Now that the total has gone up over £20,000 I'm lost for words, it just shows how lovely people can be.
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 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.'
When told about the fund, Mr Barnes said: '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.'
More than 2,000 people have donated using the page, 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.
*UPDATE* The total is now over £225,000, and Mr Barnes is going to buy a new house with it
The woman behind a campaign which has seen more than £50,000 donated for a disabled pensioner who was attacked outside his home says she felt compelled to act when she heard about the sickening crime.
Alan Barnes - who was born with growth problems and is now partially sighted, weighs just six stone and is 4ft 6in tall - was knocked to the ground as he put his bin outside his home in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear.
When local resident Katie Cutler heard about the shocking attack - which left Mr Barnes with a broken collar bone - she set up a fund to help the 67-year-old.
The Alan Barnes Fund on website Go Fund Me has now reached £50,000 with donations of up to £1,000-a-time coming in from around the world.
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Partially-sighted Alan Barnes was left with a broken collar bone after he was attacked by a mugger outside his home. Well-wishers have now donated £50,000 to a fund set up to help his recovery set up by Katie Cutler
Ms Cutler, 21, also from Gateshead, 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.
'Now that the total has gone up over £20,000 I'm lost for words, it just shows how lovely people can be.
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 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.'
When told about the fund, Mr Barnes said: '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.'
More than 2,000 people have donated using the page, 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.
*UPDATE* The total is now over £225,000, and Mr Barnes is going to buy a new house with it