Scammer is committed to helping raise £ 3,000 for an eight-year-old girl with a rare Parkinson's disease

A sick con artist left a mother with a disabled girl believe that she had raised thousands of people for a specialized bed for the three-year-old girl with a rare disease – before fleeing with the proceeds of the sale.

Katie Baxter, who will be nine on Monday, was one of 25 people in the world with child parkinsonism – a serious movement disorder.

The girl's mother, Sue Baxter, of the Isle of Wight, thought her prayer was answered when a woman named Tracey Smith contacted her to tell her that she had created a charity to help pay the £ 3,000 bed.

The 36-year-old woman said that she felt "heartbroken" when Smith had obtained "breathtaking" support from the island, but that the proceeds of the sale had escaped after people had donated weekend breaks, baskets, festival tickets, etc.

Ms. Baxter, a mother of five, turned to social media when she was shocked by the cost of the bed. Smith answered and things deteriorated quickly.

"She told me that she was organizing a children's charity, IOW Carousel, and that she would be raising money for Katie," Baxter told the Mirror.

"She said her son had Parkinson's and was determined to raise £ 6,000 for a high-end bed.

"There were times when we sang on the phone, sharing stories of care for our poor children.

Ms. Baxter told the paper that Ms. Smith said she collected more than £ 3,000, but the contact soon became cold and the police were called.

The police ordered Ms. Baxter not to talk about the case as part of her investigation, but this led the inhabitants of the island to take it to the innocent mother, to the to spit and even to break the windows of his house.

The abuse forced the Baxter family to leave home. Smith also left his and went in March in Cambridgeshire.

In July of last year, she told the Cambs Times: "I was denied £ 1,000 because I had confessed that I had bought items for the campaign with my own money and that when the situation had become hopeless, I had taken £ 1,000 to cover my bill costs, etc.

She was talking about her accusations last June, years after her offer of help.

Police suspected that £ 7,000 were missing, but admitted to taking only £ 1,000 fraudulently, claiming that two other people had access to the money.

Smith was suspended for 12 months and had to pay the £ 1,000 compensation.

The story ended well for the Baxters, while Katie walks alone after getting her bed specialist with the help of a real charity, Daisy Chains.

Sue said: "Katie will be nine years old on Monday, talking and can even walk without help. Thanks to the people who helped her, Katie can rest easy.

"I doubt it's something Tracey Smith can ever do.