Chilling tales of vulnerable being abused

TWO chilling stories including that of a man forced to set fire to himself by a supposed ‘friend’ have revealed the risks of exploitation faced by vulnerable adults in Halton.

The real-life cases of abuse were published as part of Halton Safeguarding Adults Board’s annual report for Halton Borough Council.

According to the document, ‘Alice’ and ‘Paul’ were exploited in different ways.

Paul, 55, and living with a moderate learning difficulty, endured a bleak spell of life during which his parents died and was bullied by youths when he remained in the family home.

After moving to his own flat, he went to the doctors reporting that he had been assaulted by his ‘friend’, adding that his supposed pal also took cash off him and made him set fire to himself.

His general practitioner obtained permission to make a safeguarding report and a social worker visited Paul’s home, discovering he was ‘struggling’ with basic needs such as cleaning his flat and taking his medication.

He had also acquired 10 cats and junk from other residents in the block of flats and ‘it became clear he was being exploited’.

A social worker discussed his options and they agreed a police referral despite him fearing he would be labelled a ‘grass’.

The case proceeded to court and Paul’s tormentor received a 20-month prison sentence after pleading not guilty, and Paul has since moved home and has a support package in place.

Halton’s safeguarding board said the matter was an example of ‘mate crime’ and showed the importance of different professions in helping the vulnerable person.

In the other real-life story, ‘Alice’ was an 82-year-old woman with a mental health diagnosis who reported that her carer was spending Alice’s cash on clothes for herself.

Again, Alice had con- sidered ‘friend’.

A social worker visited and Alice was assessed as having mental capacity to make her own decisions and she made a referral to the police.

Alice passed away before the case reached court through an unrelated health condition but it went ahead and the carer was slapped with a rehabilitation order and suspended sentence after pleading guilty.

The safeguarding board said the issue showed the value in personalised approach to safeguarding.

Also included in the report was a breakdown of the numbers of enquiries over concern, with neglect forming the vast bulk of concerns raised and reaching nearly 300 in 2017-18.

Physical abuse was next, followed by financial or material abuse, and then psychological harm.

There was a small increase in reports of sexual exploitation in between 2017 and 2018.

To report safeguarding concerns visit www.adult. haltonsafeguarding.co.uk or call 0151 907 8306. the woman a ● A report shows how vulnerable people are sometimes exploited