Mother launches poster campaign against son

A mother has launched a poster campaign warning people not to fall for a charity fraud used by her 13 year old son to feed his drug habit.

The woman acted after discovering the boy had been netting up to pounds 70 a day through fake charity sponsorship forms.

She is convinced he uses the cash for drugs.

The posters, which have been put up in the family's home town of Pontefract, West Yorkshire, bear a photograph of the boy with a warning to the public. "This child is going around raising sponsorship money without any intention of handing the money over to any of the charities." The youth has been arrested 14 times in three months, mostly as a result of his mother reporting him.

The divorced 35-year-old mother-of-two says he has stolen from her family and she is determined to to stop his life of crime. "I've tried everything possible. He's conning people out of their hard-earned money and I want to stop it."