Help for Heroes round-Britain charity walk fraudster is jailed for 16 months

Matthew Brown was arrested in Cornwall in November last year as he made his way around the country, accepting donations and free accommodation after telling people he was raising money for the forces' charity.

The 35-year-old claimed to have raised 500,000 for the well-known charity and garnered a string of celebrity endorsements.

But Help for Heroes at the time said that while he registered with the charity on 12 August last year he had failed to donate any money to the service charity between then and when he was arrested.

Brown, of Inverness, admitted one charge of fraud at Truro Crown Court yesterday.

A Help for Heroes spokesman said: "That people choose to fraudulently and greedily take funds for their own use, which are given generously by the British public and intended to support the wounded, is unforgivable."

In his registration with the charity last August, Brown wrote: "I plan to walk the entire coastline of Great Britain (Scotland, England and Wales). It is approx 11,000 miles and has never been done before so I will be setting a record as well."

But the charity spokesman said: "We have never been able to make contact with Matthew and we have no record of receiving funds from his event."

Brown was arrested at the Pentire Hotel in Newquay, which had offered to put him up free after hearing of his marathon walk.

He claimed to have flown Lynx and Apache helicopters during his service. But the MoD said his service was limited to 38 days with the Territorial Army.