Councillor Penny Jackman's crowdfunding slap bill page removed

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-35151667

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A crowdfunding page set up by a Conservative councillor to cover a £90,000 legal bill for slapping a UKIP candidate has been removed.

Penny Jackman, from New Forest council, was sued by Mike Beggs following the 2012 incident, in which his dental bridge was broken.

She set up a GoFundMe page and raised £300 but it has since been taken down.

GoFundMe told the Daily Echo it does not accept campaigns for anyone alleged to be involved in criminal activity.

Mrs Jackman declined to comment when contacted by BBC News.

'Not wealthy people'

She had been ordered to pay £14,992 damages and to cover Mr Beggs' legal bill, expected to exceed £80,000, after she lost a civil case against her earlier this year.

The incident was reported to police but there was insufficient evidence for a criminal prosecution.

The argument was reported to have been about UKIP election leaflets.

Mrs Jackman, who lives in Pennington where she is the ward councillor, wrote on her online appeal page she would be forced to sell her house to pay the legal bill.

"We live in a modest two-bedroom home, there would not be enough left over to buy another home and stay in the same area. My husband is a postman, we are not wealthy people," she said.

A GoFundMe spokesman told the Daily Echo all donations made to Mrs Jackman will be automatically refunded to the donors, but the BBC understands she has already received the money.