Perthshire breast cancer patient hits out after fundraiser couple 'forget' to pay charity for a year

A Perthshire breast cancer patient has hit out after a couple who held a pub fundraiser “forgot” to hand over the cash to charity for a year.

Carrie Roderick was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2023 after finding a lump in her left breast.

The 43-year-old, who lives in Aberfeldy, had a lumpectomy in September before starting four months of chemotherapy in October.

During this time, her then-colleague Shirley Mitchell organised a fundraiser in aid of Breast Cancer Now at a pub in Aberfeldy.

More than £1,100 was raised at the Wear it Pink prosecco afternoon tea on October 27 2023.

However, Carrie contacted police nearly a year later after it was claimed the money had still not been paid to the charity.

Shirley and her husband George Mitchell have now donated the cash – claiming it had simply been “forgotten about”.

Police probe over Aberfeldy Breast Cancer Now fundraiser

Police have launched an investigation.

The timeline of events is as follows:

• October 27 2023 – Breast Cancer Now fundraiser takes place at pub in Aberfeldy
• July 2024 – Carrie claims she begins to question Shirley about whether the money has been donated
• October 5 – Police launch an investigation after the case is reported to them
• October 23 2024 – Breast Cancer Now confirms £1,107 has been donated to the charity

Carrie believes had she not questioned Shirley, the money would still be sitting with the couple.

However, Shirley’s husband George has described it as a “witch hunt” – and also claims someone impersonated his wife to get information out of the charity on the case.

Carrie told The Courier: “I can’t believe someone could go a whole year with the money just lying around and continue to forget to pay it.

“There are too many inconsistencies for me.

‘I just wanted to ensure they got the money’

“She had plenty of opportunities to address this before as I had been asking for months and she chose to ignore me.”

Carrie, who receives injections every three weeks to stop her cancer growing, added: “We are talking about a charity that can help save people’s lives and one that is particularly personal to me.

“I just wanted to ensure they got the money they deserved and I shouldn’t have had to go to these lengths to ensure it did.”

Shirley declined to speak but husband George insisted the money was not deliberately withheld.

He said: “Shirley and I work 90-hour weeks (at our care firm) so the money raised was just forgotten about.

“The first we knew about any concerns was when the police appeared at the door.

“Both the charity and the police are fully behind us, with the charity understanding that sometimes it takes some time for a payment to be made.

‘It’s a witch hunt against my wife’

“It’s a witch hunt – the people making these accusations are trying to destroy my wife’s name and business, spreading all sorts of lies around the town.

“It makes me physically sick that they’d want to ruin her life for no reason.”

He added that the couple had also paid £600 in expenses out of their own pocket.

Carrie – who previously worked for the couple’s care firm – has admitted she pretended to be Shirley in order to get information on the case from Breast Cancer Now.

Asked to confirm if it was investigating the delay in the cash being paid, the charity said it could not comment due to confidentiality and GDPR.

However, a spokesperson said it takes claims such as these “very seriously” and follows a “robust investigations process when allegations of this nature are brought to us”.

Police Scotland confirmed it received a complaint over the fundraiser on Saturday October 5 and that its inquiries are ongoing.