Washington, May 13 : Heather Mills has been accused of breaking a promise to provide new artificial legs for a disabled Russian woman.
Heather Mills has been accused of breaking a promise to provide new artificial legs for a disabled Russian woman.
The former wife of Sir Paul McCartney first met Maria Rybkina, who was left disabled following a train accident, at her flat in Moscow four years ago.
After hearing the 28-year-old's story, the former model pledged 20,000 dollars to help - but it is claimed that she never handed over the cash, despite repeated promises to do so.
This has forced Rybkina to take to the streets of Moscow to beg for money, reports Contactmusic.
Maria has received support from British couple Robin and Inna Barratt for the past few years. She is finally able to walk again after the pair held numerous fundraising events.
However, the Barratts said that they are furious with Mills' false promises.
Recalling a phone call they received from Mills herself after they wrote in to the Heather Mills Health Trust, a charity for amputees, Robin says, "She said brightly, 'Hello, this is Heather Mills-MCCartney.' We spoke for a long time."
"Heather said she would personally get Maria some really good artificial legs, which would cost around 10,000 dollars, and cosmesis - the silicone cosmetic covering - which would be another 10,000 dollars.
"She promised she would also provide all the medical support needed to get her walking again. She told us that because her charity only helped victims of landmines, she would support Maria from her own personal finances," he added.
But Mills' vows failed to materialise, and the Barratts made up the cash needed for Rybkina's prosthetics by donating 4,000 dollars of their own money, as well as holding various fundraisers.
Robin said: "Heather rang us and emailed us repeatedly with promises to pay for Maria's legs. But every single promise she made fell flat. In the end, she never did anything at all."
"At first we thought she was a really sincere person. But all her big promises came to nothing. It was shocking behaviour," he added. (ANI)
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