A disabled Angus fundraiser has described his heartache after a drug addict stole charity money intended for a terminally ill man.
Former choreographer James Cameron (57), from Arbroath, said he was disgusted by the actions of thief Shaun Lovie (30), who was jailed for six months on Monday after breaking into his home in St Thomas Crescent.
Speaking through tears, Mr Cameron, who has worked with world-renowned bands such as The Eurythmics, The Kinks and The Bee Gees, told how he confronted the housebreaker outside Arbroath Sheriff Court, only to be met with a volley of abuse.
Included in Lovie’s huge haul following the August 14 break-in was a charity box containing £50, intended for wheelchair-bound Arbroath man Daniel Mathieson (22), who suffers from the same muscle-wasting disease that has claimed the lives of his brothers, James and John.
The cash would have gone towards Daniel’s Dream, an appeal set up to pay for a holiday to Disney World in Florida for the young man who suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Not content with snatching the collection, Lovie also made off with a watch and a ring that had belonged to Mr Cameron’s father, who died in November.
”We had been up in Montrose fundraising for Daniel’s Dream and we arrived back home at around 10.40pm,” Mr Cameron said. ”Everything was everywhere. My laptop was gone, my rings were taken, the TV and iPad were gone, but it was my father’s watch and his diamond-encrusted ring and the theft of the charity box that really got to me.
”It is totally disgusting and that is what I really want to get across to people. When I went to court I asked him why he had done this. He told me to f*** off and showed no remorse at all. He is just scum totally abysmal.”
The total value of the goods Lovie stole from the address was around £5,000 and Mr Cameron is now offering a small reward for the safe return of his father’s jewellery.
Lovie, of Brechin Road, Arbroath, has previously stolen from his own parents and was high on drugs at the time of the latest break-in, despite just having been sentenced to community service at Arbroath on another matter.
Mr Cameron, who raises money for charities working as a medium, said the sentence Sheriff Peter Paterson imposed for the break-in was too lenient after Lovie’s nine-month term was reduced to six for an early plea.
”The Mathieson family have been through so much and it is difficult to forgive a person who has done something like this, when Daniel’s life is being cut short,” Mr Cameron said.
Born in Arbroath, Mr Cameron worked in London, France and America as a choreographer before being forced into retirement through injury around 18 years ago. Despite being on heavy medication for pain relief and having metal plates supporting his spine, he devotes much of his time to charity work.
Over the last three years he and friends have raised more than £30,000 for various Angus causes through medium nights. The next event will be in the British Legion Hall in Arbroath on August 28, with money raised going towards Daniel’s trip.
Photo Jim Ratcliffe