A café owner who served up free meals to hungry children after food vouchers were removed has been told he will be reported to police by a Reform council leader.
Barry Ashley, who runs the Grumpy Cook in Hastings, stepped up after East Sussex County Council decided not to issue school holiday meal vouchers to struggling families over the summer. He has criticised the move, which he branded “shameless”, accusing the council of turning its back of children in poverty.
He has since been told by Andy Woolley, who heads the authority, that he will be reported to police along with Labour MP Helena Dollimore. Mr Woolley claims to have been personally attacked online and accused the pair of inciting hate and potential violence by naming him in their criticism.
The dispute follows the council’s decision not to continue offering the vouchers, which are a lifeline to families. An appalled Mr Ashley responded by announcing he would offer free meals to children who need feeding at his not-for-profit cafe.
A number of local businesses have donated to help, and Mr Ashley told The Mirror he has been providing more than 70 free meals a day. Ms Dollimore has launched a petition calling for the vouchers to be reinstated, branding the council’s actions “totally unacceptable” and accusing it of putting children at risk.
Mr Ashley said: “Hastings is one of the poorest towns in the country. And it is by every measure it’s a deprived town. One in three of the children are living in poverty.
“And the vouchers, just to take those away without considering what they should be putting in place, without doing any risk assessment, without doing any impact assessment, it’s beyond bizarre.”