'Chanel knew that my two-year-old was dying. She used it to betray us in the worst way'

A bereaved mother has spoken of her distressing betrayal from a stranger who offered to raise funds for her dying daughter only to steal the cash for herself. Mum-of-six Carla Dawson was desperately raising money in a bid to save the life of her two-year-old daughter, Jorja-Rose, who suffered a brain tumour when stranger Chanel Bailey offered her help.

Bailey took part in a sponsored walk and a head shave but kept the proceeds for herself. To organisers, she claimed to be Carla’s sister, and later to be a close family friend, even turning up at the hospital in the last days of Jorja’s life.

After the little girl passed away, Bailey took sensitive photos from Carla’s Facebook page and posted them as her own. This week, 26-year-old Bailey was jailed for two years and three months after admitting theft and fraud.

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A judge slammed her for targeting ‘vulnerable’ people using ‘animal cunning.’ Carla, 36, said: “I still cannot believe that anyone could be so cruel and heartless. Chanel wormed her way into my life; she even turned up at the hospital when Jorja was very ill and told a nurse she was a family member.

“She appeared by Jorja’s bedside and I was stunned. It was so invasive. It’s that, rather than the money, which upsets me the most.

“I’m glad she’s gone to prison and I hope this gives her to change her ways.” Carla and her husband, Lee, now run the Jorja-Rose Foundation - a charity that aims to raise awareness and provides practical support to families in hospital.

“The foundation is our way of making sure that Jorja lives on and that we are doing something positive in her memory," Carla said. "She was such a brave, smiley little girl