Probe as Frank Wingett Cancer Relief funds go to dragon sculpture

A hospital charity shop is being investigated for failing to hand over any of its profits to cancer patients in seven years.

Frank Wingett Cancer Relief ran a shop at Wrexham Maelor hospital until its closure in March but it had not made a charitable donation since 2011.

Instead, it invested £410,000 in a project to create a huge Welsh dragon sculpture near the A5 at Chirk.

The Charity Commission said it was investigating.

Simon Wingett - the trustee who runs the charity - said family issues had contributed to the accounts being late and he insisted they were "being brought up to date".

His father Frank set up the charity to buy equipment and resources for cancer patients in Wrexham and the surrounding area after he was diagnosed with throat cancer in the 1980s.

It had a shop in Wrexham Maelor hospital for many years and in 2010 it handed over almost £19,000 to Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board for patients.

In 2011 it gave £4,500, but nothing since then.

Mr Wingett is also behind plans launched in 2010 to build the dragon sculpture which would see a 23.5m (77ft) high beast standing on top of a 41.5m (147ft) tower.

He claims it could rival other well-known landmarks such as the Angel of the North and has been trying to raise £2.5m for the sculpture, as well as a cultural centre and gardens at Chirk Park.

The dragon project aims to raise money for a number of different cancer charities by selling 5,000 slate plaques at £300 each to be placed around the tower.

The charity's last accounts submitted in 2014 showed it invested £410,000 in that project.

Betsi Cadwaladr health board said it had mutually agreed with Mr Wingett that the shop would close at the end of March because of the lack of donations being provided.

The Charity Commission confirmed it was investigating serious concerns about the management and administration of the fund.

It said it was reviewing information provided by Mr Wingett and had asked for more details as a matter of urgency to assess if charity law had been correctly followed.

Mr Wingett said "all endeavours have been made and continue to be made" to bring the dragon project to fruition and "create a lasting charitable legacy for cancer sufferers in north Wales, create much needed jobs and help the Welsh economy".

"The death of my mother and my eldest daughter's battle having Hodgkin Lymphoma twice in the last three years has contributed to the accounts being late," he added.