Charity sacks ‘snailman’ marathon entrant for not raising enough funds

Action for Kids says Lloyd Scott was given his notice due to losses incurred during latest marathon A charity director who spent 26 days crawling the London marathon dressed as a giant snail has been sacked from his job after failing to raise enough money. Lloyd Scott, a well-known fundraiser who worked as director of fundraising at Action for Kids , was given his notice 11 days after he completed the 26.2miles – when he “hadn’t physically recovered from the event”. The charity confirmed Scott had been dismissed “due to losses incurred in his latest marathon”. After the news was widely reported, however, a spokesman said on Tuesday that Action for Kids would now be “having discussions” with the fundraiser this week. Scott endured vomiting and cramps as he dragged his gastropod costume – he was specifically portraying Brian the Snail from the Magic Roundabout – around the course. He had hoped to raise at least £100,000, but managed only £20,000. The former footballer, who has raised over £5m for charity over the past 20 years, said the decision to sack him was “incredibly disappointing”. “We didn’t get enough funds whilst we were doing the event, however there was a number of opportunities that had arisen as a result of being on the course for that length of time … and other events we could have put on on the back of that,” Scott said. “It would have been really good to have had the opportunities to maximise on those openings for the benefit of the charity.” Scott said he had worked in “an orthodox role within the charity” as its director of fundraising. He said Action for Kids distancing themselves from his bid to crawl the London Marathon was particularly disappointing. Sally Bishop, the founder of Action for Kids, said in a statement that the board of trustees had asked Scott to leave. “He was given notice according to his contract with us, due to losses incurred in his latest marathon,” Bishop said. “Due to limited resources, like all charities, Action for Kids must make sure that we make the best possible use of our limited funds. “Our priority is always to our donors, and the children and families we support. So it is with regret we had to take this decision.” Scott said the event had been “approved and endorsed by the trustees of the charity” before he launched his bid. “It’s a bit amiss for them to say ‘It’s his event’,” he said. Scott, who played for Blackpool, Watford and Leyton Orient, began fundraising after he was diagnosed with leukaemia in 1987. He has previously completed the London marathon dressed as St George and dragging a dragon, and as Indiana Jones, dragging a large stone. Action for Kids informed Scott that he would be dismissed two weeks after he had completed the marathon, at the end of May. However a spokesman for the charity told the Guardian on Tuesday that the two parties would be “having discussions” this week – with Scott also confirming his attendance. “The thing I want more than anything else is to raise the money we said we were going to,” Scott said, adding that people can still donate to Action for Kids on his fundraising page . The snail sacking saga may well have generated more income for the charity. Since the news of Scott’s dismissal broke there have been a flurry of donations to his Magic Marathon fundraising page. One anonymous donor pledged £5, adding: “Can they really sack a snail?!”. Steve Harvey gave £10, : and wrote: “I hope the disappointing news story of the sacked snail generates some positive interest and further donations from the British public. “Respect for all your hard work and massive charity achievements. I’m sure with some ‘air time’ money would roll in!” Charities London Marathon Adam Gabbatt guardian.co.uk

Posted by on June 14, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.