Bexhill animal rescuer found guilty of house fundraising fraud

Chris Tucker will be sentenced in November

An animal rescue volunteer has been convicted of fraud after using £190,000 of public donations to pay for a house.

Chris Tucker, of Chantry Road, Bexhill, was convicted of fraud at Lewes Crown Court and is still due to be sentenced.

After the trial, Sussex Police said Tucker had promised to sign over his house to a trust which would oversee the rescue if enough cash was raised.

But after the money was raised, Tucker took sole control of the house where the rescue was based, police said.

The force said money was raised for Bexhill and Hastings Wildlife Sanctuary and Rescue between 2017 and January 2019 and Tucker claimed the funds would help to secure the semi-detached house in a trust or community interest company.

In November 2019, officers received an allegation that Tucker, 59, had used public-generated funds to buy out his ex-partner and take sole ownership of the property.

'Mortgage-free house'

After the trial finished on Friday, Det Con Jake O'Reilly said Tucker's financial records and Land Registry papers confirmed money raised had been used by him to take full ownership.

He said: "The result of this fraud was that Tucker had acquired a large mortgage-free house and the rescue - which is not a registered charity - was not safeguarded by an independent trust which would make collective decisions on its future."

Tucker is due to be sentenced in November.