A FUNDRAISER has been arrested for allegedly defrauding Help for Heroes of up to £7,000.

Thomas Richards, from Witney, was arrested on suspicion of fraud after money collected for the charity allegedly did not reach its donations account.

Police said Mr Richards had been collecting between January and March in the centre of Oxford and may have raised between £2,000 and £7,000.

Mr Richards denied the allegations and said it was the result of a mix-up.

Police searched a property in Witney as part of the investigation after arresting Mr Richards on Sunday.

They have released Mr Richards on bail until April 25. As part of his bail conditions, he is banned from Oxford city centre, from collecting for charity and from contacting a witness.

Mr Richards said: “It is all a complete mix-up.

“All the money I have raised has gone to Help for Heroes.”

He added: “I put the money into the wrong account. I put it into the merchandise account rather than the donations account.”

The 25-year-old said he still intended to complete a planned 986-mile sponsored bike ride, from Cape Wrath in Scotland to Land’s End, but had postponed the marathon, which he planned to do this month, until April 7.

Help for Heroes was set up in 2007 to help wounded service personnel returning from Afghanistan and Iraq.

Bryn Parry, CEO and co-founder of Help for Heroes, said: “As the case is still under investigation, Help for Heroes is unable to comment.”

Referring to cases where fraud was proved, he said: “However, that people choose to fraudulently and greedily take funds for their own use – that are given generously by the British public and intended to support the wounded – is unforgivable.

“This undermines the thousands of generous and committed fundraisers across the UK who enabled Help for Heroes to commit £128m to provide practical and direct support to the wounded.”