By Rob McLaren

THE WOMAN who organised the memorial for Jolanta Bledaite, whose head and hands were found on Arbroath beach, has said she will stop fund-raising due to abuse to her and her family from people in the town.

Sue Smith has been involved with the migrant community in Arbroath since she discovered the body of Czech berry picker Marek Smrz, who was murdered in 2005.

She set up the Marek Appeal, which raised £10,000 to help take his body home.

When Jolanta’s body was found she campaigned for money for the appeal to take her remains to Lithuania.

Mrs Smith strongly denies rumours circulating Arbroath that she used some of the money raised for herself.

“There are rumours that I have dipped into the money.

“I’ve never handled the finances for the Marek Appeal or for the Jolanta fund. The financial side of everything has got two signatories. I am not even a signatory.

“OK, I live in a big house, but I had that before I started fund-raising. I don’t even own a car. I shop in the Co-Op. I am certainly not living the high life.

“I’m going to stop all my fund-raising. The only thing I’m going to do is help my local church distribute food packs to migrant workers.

“I have dipped into my own pocket for these appeals, printing out leaflets and sending letters.

“When I was entertaining the Lithuanian ambassador I didn’t even dip into the fund to buy him a sausage roll.”

She claims an adult shouted at her 11-year-old son in the street at the weekend due to her work—a matter now in police hands—and says her son was assaulted at school by a group of older children, which she thinks may be related.

Eggs have been thrown at her house and she claims to have witnessed people in the town shouting abuse at her and migrant workers.

She said, “It’s a very small minority. I’m not tarring everyone with the same brush. It’s very sad that it’s come to this.

“The other week I was in a pub with two Russians. I had managed to get them a Russian newspaper. A young lad, who was drunk, came up to them and started swearing at them.

“Another time a lady stopped me in the bank and said that I must have felt that I should have raised money for Marek since the guy who killed him was taking drugs in my house.

“I had only met Marek once and he was never in my house. I didn’t know the person who killed him at all.

“I have had enough. What has the world come to when you can’t help somebody without people thinking you are doing it for your own gain?”

She said the Lithuanian embassy in London has control of the fund for Jolanta.