Fundraiser set up for woman facing legal action after raising £330k for disabled pensioner Alan Barnes

Two well-wishers set up online appeals to help Katie Cutler meet the costs

Disabled pensioner Alan Barnes and Katie Cutler in 2015. (Getty)

Two online appeals have been set up to help a woman threatened with legal action and who created a similar fundraising page for disabled mugging victim Alan Barnes.

Katie Cutler was dubbed the Angel of the North by the press, and awarded a British Empire Medal, after her efforts helped the 4ft 6in vulnerable pensioner buy a new home with £330,000 of public donations after he was a victim of a street attack last year.

Since then she has been handed a final £6,687 bill from PR adviser Claire Barber for work said to have been carried out to raise the profile of the 23-year-old mother from Greenside, Gateshead.

Miss Cutler disputed the final bill and it is now the subject of county court proceedings.

Two well-wishers, Wayne Thompson and Danielle Aikin, have set up fundraising pages to help Miss Cutler meet the costs.

By Monday lunchtime, one on the justgiving.com site had reached £2,824 and one on gofundme.com had raised £2,380.

Miss Cutler was tearful when she appeared on ITV's This Morning show, saying she hoped when her daughter, who has just started school, is old enough, she would be able to see the “nice things” she had done for others.

Mr Barnes, who was born with disabilities after his mother contracted German measles during pregnancy, has been criticised by some people for not helping her pay the bill from the money raised for him.

But Miss Cutler told the ITV show: “Alan is a vulnerable adult. That money was raised for him, I didn't expect anything in return.”

Northumberland-based Ms Barber has previously said she had “no choice but to go to the small claims court” as she was unable to carry the debt.

She said the dispute over the bill lasted over a year, and said her agency was “highly ethical” and had an “outstanding reputation”.