An under-10s football coach gambled thousands of pounds raised by parents to send their excited children to a dream football tournament in Barcelona.
Michael Grisedale, 39, had agreed to organise a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for his young team to play in the Spanish competition if their mums and dads raised the money.
But father-of-two Grisedale secretly filched £6,401.39 raised by the parents – and gambled it away in virtual casinos until all the money had gone.
His plot was uncovered just three days before the competition was due to start when a hotel contacted one of the parents to inform them the reservation had been cancelled due to non-payment.
When quizzed, Grisedale, who ran the under-10s Vauxhall Astra team in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, claimed there had not been enough cash available to pay for the trip and he gambled it to raise the extra money.
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The devastated children were only able to make the trip to Salou after well-wishers raised the money via GoFundMe when news of Grisedale’s betrayal spread throughout the town.
He then moved 80 miles to Blackpool, Lancashire, on the advice of police. Later, it was revealed he also stole the £200 given towards the trip by his own girlfriend.
In a statement, parent Tony Davies said: ‘When I discovered that Michael had stolen money from the team, I was shocked, angry and betrayed.
‘We only found out from a phone call from the hotel in Barcelona. I believe if we had not been called from the hotel, the whole team would have travelled out leaving us stranded in Barcelona.
‘I’ve worked tirelessly to raise money for the trip, and the thefts have had a profound impact on the team. My reputation with sponsors has been damaged, and any further fundraising has been damaged. The team folded just a few weeks into the new season I am deeply hurt and disappointed by Michael’s actions. The betrayal of trust has caused irreparable harm.’
Mum Hannah Parry added: ‘Michael caused emotional distress in the first instance when we discovered what he had done.
‘We considered him as a friend, and my son loved him as a football coach – but I had the distress of telling our son that the trip was not going ahead. I’m now apprehensive when asked for money, as it’s harder to trust people’s words on face value.’
At Chester Crown Court, Grisedale pleaded guilty to 11 charges of theft and was sentenced to 24 months in jail suspended for two years, with requirements that he complete 150 hours of unpaid work and 15 days of rehabilitation activity.
He’s also required to pay back the money to his victims.
Grisedale, who now works in a supermarket, has since scraped together £1,500 to pay back some of the money he gambled away, his defence counsel said.
Counsel Nicholas Williams added: ‘This has been a dramatic fall from grace for Mr Grisedale.
‘Unfortunately, at that time Mr Grisedale was out of work and had no independent income. The temptation to dip into the money he was entrusted to look after became too great.
‘The dipping into this fund at the outset was at least done with the complete intention of paying it back. It was not for an extravagant lifestyle but to pay for day-to-day bills and expenses; however, as time went on, it became apparent that he did not have the money to pay it all back.’
Sentencing Judge Natalie Cuddy told him: ‘The money paid to you by the parents was, I anticipate, something of a significant stretch for some of them. I am told that you have a significant gambling problem, and you showed a complete disregard for the trust placed in you by the victims of your offending.
‘The children would have very much been looking forward to the trip, I have no doubt, but thankfully and due to the generosity of people in the community, they were able to go.
‘However, the excitement and the enjoyment of that must have been for those families very much diminished by the shadow of your offending and what happened to the money that they had paid to you.’
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