Blair minder in disability fiddle jailed
CCTV shows predator pouncing on victim
ONE of Tony Blair’s former bodyguards has been jailed for scamming more than £56,000 in disability benefits.
Ex-policeman Vaughan Dodds, 45, claimed he was housebound due to ME and could only walk 10 metres.
But he was a gym member and visited places including Egypt and Florida with wife Mandy. Photos showed them dancing on a cruise ship and riding on a camel.
Dodds – who made his first fraudulent claim in 2005 while still with Durham Police – spent £25,000 at hotels and restaurants in six years. During 40 days of surveillance, investigators never saw him use a cane.
Recorder Graham Cook said at Teesside crown court: “There is evidence of a lavish lifestyle paid for by the state.”
Dodds, of Spennymoor, Co Durham, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years.
A RAPE victim is carried through a city centre in disturbing CCTV images released by police.
A man was filmed walking around Leeds in the early hours before spotting the 24-year-old on her way to get a taxi home after a night out with pals.
He walked beside her for about 10 minutes. It is not known what happened next but she is seen hanging limply as he carries her to a back road, where she was raped.
The woman, of Leeds, agreed to the release of the footage in the hope it will help catch him.
Det Supt Pat Twiggs of West Yorks Police said: “It makes for disturbing viewing. We gave very careful consideration to releasing it and secured the consent of the victim, who is understandably traumatised.
“We hope it will focus the public’s minds on helping us trace the man.”
He is first seen at 4.40am in the city centre, and in the Malmaison hotel car park.
The pol ice “strongly” believe he was prowling for victims and want to trace another woman he approached in Swinegate at about 4.45am.
He latched on to his alleged victim by St John’s shopping centre shortly after 5am. Det Supt Twiggs said: “We don’t know if he assaulted her prior to picking her up. We don’t have that on CCTV and the victim can’t be sure. There was some force during the attack but also not a lot of r resistance.”
He added: “She’s angry with herself... but it was not her fault.”
The man was described as tall, black, in his 30s and looking “like a 1990s bouncer”. Local doormen have been ruled out.
Det Supt T Twiggs added: “We need to look at why he was in the city dressed smartly. Was he attending a function?”
It makes for disturbing viewing, we hope it will help focus minds
DET SUPT PAT TWIGGS OF WEST YORKS POLICE