Alan Barnes pledges ‘small donation’ to Katie Cutler, who helped raise £330,000 after he was attacked and owes £7,000 to PR firm

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Mugging victim Alan Barnes has said he would contribute about £10 towards paying off the debts of a woman who helped raise more than £330,000 for him.

Barnes, 68, who is disabled and 4ft 6in, was attacked outside his home in Gateshead in January 2015, breaking his collarbone.

Following the assault, Katie Cutler, a beautician, set up an online fundraising page, which attracted donations from across the world. The eventual sum raised enabled Barnes to buy a new house.

But Cutler is facing the prospect of bailiffs turning up at her house after she was handed a bill of almost £7,000 by a PR company.

Claire Barber PR is demanding the money, which it says was for four months’ work to help raise Cutler’s profile, and has taken the case to a small claims court.

Barnes, a pensioner, said he would contribute a “small amount ... £10 or something,” when asked about Cutler’s plight.

He told the Chronicle newspaper that he believes a fund should be set up for Cutler and he would be “quite happy to put just a small donation in”.

“It’s easy for people to say ‘he’s got a lot of money, cough up,’ but you’ve got to look into all the alternatives,” he said.

“It might seem hard, but if I start handing it out, other people might ask for money. It was given to me on the understanding that I use it for myself.”

Cutler defended Barnes’s offer telling the Mirror: “I do not think Alan should have to pay anything. Like me, he did not sign anything.

“A lot of people think he should have paid that bill because things in that relate to him. If you go out for a meal, the richest person does not have to foot the bill. I feel strongly about this.

“The money raised was Alan’s and that money was for him - it should stay with him. He can do what he wants with it.”

Claire Barber, the chief executive of Claire Barber PR, said she had “no choice but to go to the small claims court” because she was unable to carry the debt.

Following the mugging, Barnes said he would move to the Shetland Islands, after getting a “call from God”, and put his house in Gateshead up for sale. But he eventually decided against this and is looking for another home in the town.

Richard Gatiss, who attacked Barnes, was sentenced to four years in prison at Newcastle crown court in April 2015, having previously admitted assault with intent to rob.