Scouts boss charged over missing Canada trip funds

A senior Scouts boss has been charged with fraud after about £200,000 raised towards a children's summer trip to North America went missing.

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.

West Mercia Police said 46-year-old Robert Sidley, of Worcester, had been charged with fraud by abuse of position.

A force spokesperson said the charge related to a report of theft from the Hereford and Worcester Scouts Association received on 9 January.

The Canada visit included 100 children and 27 volunteers, taking in areas including Toronto and Niagara.

Parents and Scouts had been fundraising since the start of last year, with the excursion costing £2,750 per child.

The trip was set to take place in either July or August before it was cancelled.

A spokesperson for Hereford and Worcester Scouts Association said it had been cooperating fully with the police investigation.

Sidley was the Hereford and Worcester County Scouts' commissioner, a role he held from 2017 until earlier this year.

He is due to appear at Worcester Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, 22 September.

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Arrest as £200k stolen from scouts trip fund