Mum of disabled boy robbed by scammer who said ‘spastic kids should be drowned’

A mum who tried to buy a new walker for her son was robbed by a scammer who then bombarded her with abusive messages about disabled children.

Lisa Lax-Harding’s son Finlay, 4, suffers from genetic disorder Edwards’ Syndrome, which means he can’t walk or talk.

She used a Facebook group to buy him new equipment but was conned out of £200 by a con-artist who said disabled children should be killed.

In a series of messages the scammer wrote: ‘Shouldn’t keep kids like that. That’s what abortion clinics are for. To get rid of kids who are disabled. And f**king no use to this life… I hope it dies in its sleep…. F*****g spastic kids.’

Lisa, from Sheffield, is now speaking out about the incident to warn other Facebook buyers to be careful with who they are dealing with.

The 44-year-old said: ‘Someone has actually sat there and come up with an idea of “do you know what? Let’s target parents with disabled children”‘.

‘You wouldn’t believe somebody would use a child’s disability for their own gain. It’s unthinkable. There’s absolutely no compassion at all.

‘You are desperate as a parent to get the equipment your child needs but a lot of parents can’t afford thousands of pounds at a time.

‘Even now I sit and think “why didn’t I think when she was messaging me at 6am for the money that this is a scam?”’

Lisa had already sold her boy’s old walker and is now trying to raise £1,000 to buy him a brand new one to avoid being scammed again.

She has reported the fraud to the police and the family have set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for a new walker.

She said Paypal refunded her the £200 but she is still left reeling at the vile messages.

She said: ‘This has to be the most hurtful thing I have ever read. They are very sick individuals.

‘Even when they took my money and initially did the scam I messaged them and said you do realise it’s my son’s legs you have taken. Their reply was “good”.

‘It’s unbelievable, it really is.’