A con-man who invented a dying child to trick people into giving him money has been jailed for six months today.
Martin Heaver, 46, of London Road in Grantham, took sponsorship forms around Grantham and Melton asking for people to pledge money for a series of sponsored sky-dives he said he would attempt.
To ward off suspicion, Heaver also claimed he was a former Paratrooper. However, Lincoln Crown Court was today told all of his stories were a “web of lies” as Heaver was jailed for fraud.
Matthew Lowe, prosecuting, said: “There was no five-year-old girl who was terminally-ill, there were no parachute jumps and the money he obtained ended up in his own pocket.”
The court heard how Heaver, a father-of-four, had bought a red Paratrooper t-shirt and beret from E-bay to give his story authenticity.
An estimated 100 people pledged money to his cause, with Heaver pocketing between £900 and £1,000.
Judge Sean Morris described Heaver’s acts as “despicable” and said he had abused the name of “one of our most illustrious regiments”.
Judge Morris added: “You conned people into believing you were raising money for a little girl to send her to Florida to see Mickey Mouse, presumably, before she passed away.
“I can’t think of anything as low as that.”
READ THE FULL STORY IN TOMORROW’S GRANTHAM JOURNAL!