Alan Barnes, the disabled pensioner who was violently mugged, has offered to pay the public relations bill of a woman who helped raise money for him after he was attacked.
Katie Cutler, 21, racked up more than £6,000 in costs with Claire Barnes PR to raise the profile of her charity work and deal with media attention.
Now, Alan Barnes, 68, of Gateshead, has stepped in and said he will pay for the £6,687 PR bill, as the problem has “got out of hand”.
“I didn’t pay for convalescence when I was injured as I stayed with my sister Carol for 12 weeks,” Mr Barnes told Chronicle Live.
“Because I didn’t have to pay for that I am donating that money I didn’t spend back then, to clear up the bill for Katie.”
“I just want to solve the problem. Katie did so much for me and I want to help her as it has got out of hand.”
Mr Barnes said would pay the PR firm directly as he feared Ms Cutler would reject the money if he tried to give it to her himself.
The January 2015 attack left Mr Barnes with a broken collarbone and too scared to return home, so Ms Cutler, a beautician, initiated a fundraiser to buy him a new property where he would feel safe.
Mr Barnes previously offered to pay £10 towards the bill because he “didn’t want to show off” and was scared other people would start asking him for money.
Earlier in September Ms Cutler wrote on Facebook: “My close friends and family know of how the past year and a half has been horrendous, not just for me but for my family.
“I did various good deeds for people in need not because I wanted recognition, or anything for that matter, in return but it made me feel incredibly good about myself.
“I was approached by PR company... I was invited to dinner - I did not go out seeking a PR company.
“We had no contracts other than an email which I was told word for word to send.
“I believe the bill is unrealistic”.
But Ms Barnes had told The Independent she was “not in a position to do free PR” and she had worked with Ms Cutler for four months to raise her profile, securing her TV appearances on channels including Sky, ITN, the BBC and Channel 4.
