A YOUTH club has been suspended after its founder was sentenced for fraud – days before its opening party.

The future of the newly-established club at Rhewl Pavilion that was to benefit up to 100 children is in doubt after the man who set it up in a gesture of community goodwill was convicted of false representation by faking a terminal illness.

David Carroll, 35, from Rhewl, was sentenced at Leicester Magistrates Court on Tuesday, October 9 to 26 weeks in prison, suspended for two years. He was also ordered to complete 180 hours unpaid work.

Mr Carroll, who lived in Leicester at the time, told his wife he had leukaemia when they met in 2006 and maintained the lie throughout their nine-year relationship.

He was given £2,000 by his mother-in-law who has multiple sclerosis, under the impression that it would enable him to access a cure in the US.

The dad-of-one returned to Rhewl in 2017 and decided to set up the youth club to “make a difference and help young people”.

It is understood he approached the Rhewl Pavilion committee (RPC) to set up the youth club in the building, for which they are insured, but did not reveal his ongoing court case.

Mr Carroll’s idea received major backing from the community.

The RPC was only made aware of his sentencing the following day and immediately suspended Mr Carroll’s youth club, which it had accepted as a separate identity to use the building under its insurance policy.

Mr Carroll was preparing for the club’s opening party last Friday.

Mike Denman, secretary for the RPC, said: “Mr Carroll approached us to establish the youth club and we were prepared to support his application.

“We wanted a youth club in the village and so we agreed to allow them use of the pavilion on one night per week free of charge, and we also agreed that they could run it under our insurance.

“But on Wednesday we became aware of the fact he had been convicted and made the decision to suspend the youth club until further notice.”

Mr Denman said advice was taken from the county council, who said the youth centre should no longer be involved with Mr Carroll.

It is currently unclear who was responsible for the enhanced DBS check – required for people with frequent unsupervised access to children – prior to the establishment of the youth club, for which Mr Carroll received training from Denbighshire County Council (DCC).

Both the RPC and DCC said they were not responsible for confirming Mr Carroll was DBS certified.

Mr Denman said: “We have been working closely with the county council’s youth service and they have provided the necessary training, and we had been assured that all volunteers had appropriate DBS certification.”

A spokesman for DCC said: “There is no requirement for the council to give consent for the Rhewl Pavilion to run an independent voluntary youth club.

“This is a matter for the Rhewl Pavilion committee and organisers regarding the type of activity it wishes to programme in their building.”

Mr Carroll has defended his actions, saying he has suffered from a mental illness “which made me believe I had physical illnesses when I didn’t”.

He is now looking to move forward with his life but it “breaks my heart” to step down from having any role in the project.