AMID the anger and disgust directed at former Butterwick Hospice chief executive Graham Leggatt-Chidgey after he admitted defrauding the charity to the tune of tens of thousands of pounds, one fact stands out.

Since it emerged that he was under investigation, a loss of trust has cost the hospice at least £100,000 in donations and fundraising – that’s £100,000 less available to help pay for the care of dying patients and support their grieving families.

Chair of the hospice’s trustees, Judith Hunter, also revealed that innocent staff have been shouted at in pubs and accused of being thieves because of Leggatt-Chidgey’s shameful behaviour.

His guilty pleas at Teesside Crown Court yesterday should now remove any suspicion in the minds of the wider public.

The actions of “one bad apple”, as Ms Hunter puts it, cannot be allowed to taint the reputation of a charity which has done so much good for the people of the North-East.

The legacy of Mary Butterwick, who founded the charity in 1984 in memory of her husband, is based on caring and compassion. She used a personal tragedy as her motivation to help others, and dedicated her life to the cause.

That is the true story of the Butterwick Hospice, not one greedy man who betrayed the trust of colleagues, volunteers, supporters and fundraisers.

The charity has been there for so many people in their darkest hours, now we urge the North-East to get behind it once more as it seeks to recover from this traumatic episode.