Nottingham woman stole children’s cancer charity donations

A Nottingham admin assistant at a cancer charity who stole donations meant for sick children has been jailed.

Heidi Bucknall organised visits to theme parks for sick children, but pocketed hundreds of donated tickets and sold them on eBay.

Bucknall also organised grants to be paid into bogus family accounts, with an investigation finding the accounts were actually linked to herself.

She also stole two thermometers donated to the charity and sold them online for her own personal gain.

Nottingham Crown Court heard Bucknall made approximately £30,000 from her ill-gotten gains.

The 32-year-old began working for PASIC (Parents Association for Seriously Ill Children) in 2012.

The charity supports families of children with cancer across the East Midlands and uses donations to organise trips out for them, including to theme parks and other attractions.

Bucknall’s offending – which took place between June 2015 and April 2021 – was uncovered when a company that provided free tickets spotted them for sale on eBay.

Inquiries found the eBay account was indirectly linked to Bucknall, who broke down in tears when questioned by her manager.

Bucknall admitted the eBay account was linked to a PayPal account belonging to one of her relatives, who she insisted had no knowledge of her fraudulent conduct.

The matter was reported to Nottinghamshire Police and Bucknall attended a voluntary interview on 14 July 2021, during which she admitted receiving up to £3,000-a-year by selling donated tickets online.

A further fraud involving false Family Grants was uncovered later in the investigation and Bucknall was arrested and interviewed on 15 March 2022, during which she admitted her actions.

She told officers she knew her actions were “wrong” but that she’d been under pressure to provide money to an ex-partner.

Bucknall, of Tyburn Close, Bestwood, went on to admit five counts of fraud by false position and three counts of concealing criminal property.

On Friday (5 July), she was jailed for two years and four months.

Following the sentencing, Detective Constable Anna Haynes, who led the investigation, said: “The criminal actions of Heidi Bucknall have had a profound impact on a fantastic charity and the lives of those connected to it – including its staff, volunteers and of course the children and families who benefit from its incredible work.

“Money and tickets that could have helped the families of very sick children was selfishly pocketed by Bucknall and nothing can excuse her actions.

“I would like to thank PASIC for working closely with us to expose Bucknall’s criminal actions and bring her to justice.”

Louise Towse, PASIC CEO, said: “Providing support and comfort to families facing the devastation of childhood cancer has always been, and remains, our priority.

"We would like to reassure all our supporters, beneficiaries, and colleagues that our charity is in good health and our work continues as normal.

“Since the incident was uncovered in 2021, we have conducted a thorough review of governance and financial controls to ensure such misappropriation cannot be allowed to happen in the future.

“We would like to thank DC Anna Haynes for her help in bringing the case to this outcome.”