ALLEGED mugging victim Alan Barnes said receiving £330,000 from well-wishers was "like a fairy story" as he officially received the cheque from the beautician who set up the online fund.
The 4ft 6in visually-impaired pensioner was guest of honour at a glitzy event in Newcastle tonight (Friday), organised by his new friend Katie Cutler, the 21-year-old who started a fundraising campaign which went around the world.
Mr Barnes, 67, still has no firm plans for the windfall, which came about after an incident outside his home in Low Fell, Gateshead, on January 25 in which he fell and broke his collar bone.
A 25-year-old man appeared in court this week charged with assault with intent to rob.
At the Assembly Rooms venue in Newcastle, he said: "It is just absolutely like a fairy story. You might read about it in a book, but it has come true. It is hard to find the words really, it was just a total, total surprise."
He plans to buy a house near Ms Cutler in Greenside, Gateshead, but is waiting for his bone to heal before he starts hunting. He said he will also undertake charity work with the money.
Speaking of his recovery, he said: "I'm getting there. I can do small things like clean my teeth and get a bath now, eat biscuits and sweets with that hand.
"I haven't attempted to open doors with that hand, I want my fracture to heal before that."
Ms Cutler thanked the media for helping her campaigns and will now take stock of what has happened to her in the last fortnight.
"It doesn't feel real," she said. "It has been very overwhelming. Once it dies down and things get back to normality, that's when it will sink in."
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