A man who was awarded £10,000 for helping police to track down a violent rapist has given the money to the victim.
The woman was left for dead under a truck after being attacked by Jakub Tomczak. She spent weeks in a coma and is still confined to a wheelchair more than three years after the attack. Tomczak was later given a double life sentence.
Lloyd Gardner, 22, came forward in response to a Crimestoppers appeal broadcast after the woman was found naked and unconscious. Her attacker had been caught earlier on a closed-circuit television camera as he chatted to two women in the street in Exeter.
Mr Gardner, a restaurant manager, recognised the two Polish women and put them in touch with the police, which led to Tomczak’s identification. He said: “I thought what I told police was quite minor but they told me it was what they needed and had been a vital part of the case.”
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“I didn’t feel like I’d earned it,” he said. “The fact that such a horrific thing happened to that lady, I thought it would benefit her life more than it would mine. I just wanted to try and improve her standard of life. It is a huge amount of money but I’ve been lucky throughout my life — she nearly died and was left in a horrendous state after the attack.
“I thought the money would go a lot further to improve her situation. I just wanted to help in any way possible and I hope this has done that.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6868673.eceSomething a bit positive for a change from our news outlets.