Man raised money for Lee Rigby's son then spent it on making music single

Lorry driver Gary Gardner claims track flopped because of bad weather

Gardner was convicted of two counts of fraud at Leicester Crown Court (SWNS)

A fraudster used money raised for the young son of murdered soldier Lee Rigby to produce a charity music single he knew would be a "flop".

Lorry driver Gary Gardner, 56, spent up to £5,000 on the track before claiming it failed because of bad weather at the launch event in London's Trafalgar Square in February 2014.

He also transferred £431 from the trust account to prop up his overdrawn bank account.

Gardner raised at least £24,000 from various events but did not give any of it to Lee Rigby's widow Rebecca or his son Jack, Leicester Crown Court heard.

He was jailed for two-and-a-half years after being convicted of two counts of fraud by a jury.

Mrs Rigby said in a victim impact statement read out at court: "I feel disgusted about Mr Gardner not making good his promises with regard to my son and abusing my family name."

The judge, Recorder Helen Malcolm QC, told Gardner: "There has been an impact on every one of those who volunteered to assist you.

"Not one penny of the sums that you collected have been paid to Jack Rigby.

"Not only was the principal victim particularly vulnerable, there has been trauma to the family, particularly trauma to Rebecca Rigby, putting her through a second trial when she might quite reasonably have been left in peace.

"I accept all the evidence that you worked very hard. In your favour I accept that you did not set out with the intention to defraud.

"The fact remains that what you did was undoubtedly dishonest. I would say it was indeed despicable."

Shortly after the murder of Private Lee Rigby on the streets of London in May 2013, Gardner said he wanted to raise money for Jack Rigby and local causes.

The lorry driver put on truck-pull events in 2013, 2014 and 2015 in the Leicestershire villages of Medbourne and Market Harborough, and Stroud, Gloucestershire - fundraisers which were attended by thousands of people, including Fusilier Rigby's widow and his son Jack.

Giving evidence in the trial, Mrs Rigby said: "There were talks of climbing Kilimanjaro, there were a number of things he wanted to do to raise funds for Jack.

"He spoke about large money - thousands - and it was as if it would set Jack up for life."

Fusilier Lee Rigby was killed outside his barracks in Woolwich, south London in 2013 (PA)

Out of the £24,250 he raised, including just £200 from the single, Gardner gave just £4,000 to other charities.

Prosecutor Samuel Skinner said Gardner used profits for travel expenses in London as he transferred funds from the charity bank account to his own personal account.

Mr Skinner told jurors: "The defendant appears to have an enthusiasm for promoting emerging music artists and it is the showcasing of these acts that has swallowed up most of the verifiable donations.

"In any event, the defendant used some of the money for a purpose that the original donors never intended and would not have approved if they had known.

"It appears that the defendant has spent all the money he received."

Gardner was cleared of one count of fraud which alleged he failed to keep a record of the amounts raised from fundraisers but convicted of two other counts on Thursday.

Steven Kennell from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said: "Gary Gardner's beneficiary, the trust set up for Fusilier Rigby's son, never received a penny from him.

"The CPS has presented clear-cut evidence to the court that Gardner did not pass any of the money he raised to the trust fund, and only made the local donations he did make when confronted about his activities.

"Whatever his intentions in starting his fundraising, the jury has agreed his activities constituted fraud, in failing to transfer the funds to the beneficiary and spending funds on the charity single."

Mr Kennell added: "It was the prosecution's case that he has behaved dishonestly throughout, even inviting the Rigby family to attend his events and posing publicly with a presentation cheque to imply he had donated the money."

Press Association