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A senior Scouts boss has been charged with fraud after about \u00a3200,000 raised towards a children’s summer trip to North America went missing.<\/p>\n
More than 100 scouts from Herefordshire and Worcestershire saw their two-week trip to Canada cancelled when the money was removed from a charity account.<\/p>\n
West Mercia Police said 46-year-old Robert Sidley, of Worcester, had been charged with fraud by abuse of position.<\/p>\n
A force spokesperson said the charge related to a report of theft from the Hereford and Worcester Scouts Association received on 9 January.<\/p>\n
The Canada visit included 100 children and 27 volunteers, taking in areas including Toronto and Niagara.<\/p>\n
Parents and Scouts had been fundraising since the start of last year, with the excursion costing \u00a32,750 per child<\/a>.<\/p>\n The trip was set to take place in either July or August before it was cancelled.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Hereford and Worcester Scouts Association said it had been cooperating fully with the police investigation.<\/p>\n Sidley was the Hereford and Worcester County Scouts’ commissioner, a role he held from 2017 until earlier this year.<\/p>\n He is due to appear at Worcester Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 22 September.<\/p>\n Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on <\/em>BBC Sounds<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Facebook<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>X<\/em><\/a> and <\/em>Instagram<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\nMore on this story<\/h2>\n
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