Burnley founder of Depher CIC and 'Britain's kindest plumber' accused of faking stories for cash

Pride of Manchester Award-winner James Anderson, dubbed "Britain's kindest plumber", has been accused of using vulnerable people's photos without consent.

The bombshell report also reveals that he spent £73,125 of company money on a house, which is rented out to a member of Mr Anderson’s extended family, as well as buying cars using Depher cash.

The CIC also claimed it stopped an elderly woman from taking her own life. But the BBC confirmed she had died years earlier.

Ahead of the investigation, James took to Facebook to say: “[The BBC] will show warranted questions about safeguarding and pictures, mistakes that have been made over the years, mistakes that have now been apologised for and training is now in place to stop it from happening again. Also, about how we spend our income, what we pay for etc.”

Depher became a viral-hit, posting hundreds of stories online about providing free plumbing work to elderly and disabled people. The CIC has also offered helped to pay for food, gas and electricity bills, and funeral costs for vulnerable people over the years.

Anaylsing company accounts, the BBC revealed that the firm brought in at least £2m. in donations during the cost-of-living crisis. Donations were reported to have come from celebrities like singer Lily Allen, Emmerdale actress Samantha Giles and Hollywood actor Hugh Grant, who gave £75,000.

What are the accusations against Depher?

The BBC says it has examined hundreds of Depher CIC posts and interviewed the families of the people pictured, finding that Depher:

- Reused the same photos in misleading and false posts, including several using the same image of a dead woman who James claimed he saved from suicide;

- Accused a victim of domestic abuse of theft, without evidence, and put a picture on her on social media with her young child and baby;

- Used funds to purchase a house, with James also admitting to buying a car with company cash;

- Posted video and images of a vulnerable man in his 90s in fundraising posts more than 20 times, publicising information about his sexuality, despite the man being adament that he did not want to be filmed. The man’s solicitor said he did not have the capacity to give informed consent;

- One former employee said many people did not consent to having their photos used on social media, and the company would receive complaints from relatives.

- Former employees also raised safety concerns after one staff member was pictured smoking a cigarette next to a leaking boiler.

The BBC found that Depher used the image of a dead woman, Joyce, who James claimed he had saved from suicide, seven times in total between February 2021 and August 2023, with different ages and locations. Joyce died in February 2020, more than a year before Depher began using her image.

The BBC also discovered that cash donations doubled to more than £1.2m. from April 2021 to April 2023. The company had more £643,000 in cash in April 2023.

This is despite James regularly posting on social media that Depher could have to cut its services without more support. He also claimed on an online fundraising page in January 2023 that donations had dropped by 80%.