Ex-trustee used Cowesby Trust charity funds to buy antique clocks

The regulator said Hugh Morgan-Williams was "the only person to benefit from the charity" for nine years

A charity set up to help villagers in need was raided for cash by a former trustee who used the funds to buy antique clocks and renovate a cottage.

The Cowesby Trust aims to help people suffering hardship in the village of Cowesby, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire.

The regulator found Hugh Morgan-Williams used his role as sole trustee to spend £179,500 of charity funds.

Mr Morgan-Williams paid £136,039 back to the trust in 2020, the Charity Commission said.

It has banned Mr Morgan-Williams from being a trustee of any charity for 10 years.

An inquiry by the commission said Mr Morgan-Williams acted as sole trustee for at least nine years - a period in which "there was no evidence of charitable activity and the only person to benefit from the charity was Mr Morgan-Williams".

The Cowesby Trust was set up to help people suffering hardship in the village near Thirsk and surrounding areas

He spent more than £110,000 on renovating a cottage he owned, claiming the money had been obtained through three loans from the charity.

The inquiry found no evidence that anyone else had been involved in the decision to grant the loans.

Mr Morgan-Williams spent a further £69,500 of charity funds on two antique Mulberry longcase clocks.

He claimed they would be an investment for the trust.

But the clocks were displayed in his home and the inquiry found "there was no evidence provided to justify the decision was in the interests of the charity".

'Breach of trust'

The Cowesby Trust was established in 1963 to help people in the village and the neighbouring area who are in need, hardship or distress.

But the regulator found that between 2009 and 2016, none of its funds was spent to benefit the public.

Amy Spiller, head of investigations at the commission, said: "We expect all trustees to act only in the best interests of their charity and to do otherwise is a clear breach of trust."

The two antique clocks were later sold for £26,000, representing a loss of £43,500 to the charity.

In August 2018 the regulator banned Mr Morgan-Williams from being a charity trustee or holding an office or employment with senior management functions at a charity for 10 years.

The Cowesby Trust now has three new trustees.

North Yorkshire Police confirmed there was no investigation ongoing against Mr Morgan-Williams in relation to The Cowesby Trust.

However he was convicted of one count of fraud at Teesside Crown Court in June relating to an offence committed while he was interim chairman at Durham and Tees Valley Community Rehabilitation Company (DTVCRC), a private probation company that received public money.

He was handed a 33-week sentence, suspended for 12 months, after he admitted defrauding the DTVCRC out of £26,966.

Mr Morgan-Williams received an OBE in June 2008 for services to business in the North East. North Yorkshire Police said the Cabinet Office had been made aware of his conviction.