TRUSTEES of a children's charity based in Tetbury must give up their roles for twelve years, following a Charity Commission inquiry.

In an article by the BBC, it has been reported that trustees of Jole Rider Friends paid themselves £322,500, which was almost a quarter of the charity's funds.

The Charity Commission found the pair, David Swettenham and Helen King, were responsible for serious misconduct in handling the charity's finances and governance.

Jole Rider Friends, which provided refurbished bicycles for African school children, was wound up in September.

The inquiry found the charity, which operated a bicycle shop from its premises in Tetbury and was set up in 2005, repeatedly failed to send in its accounts on time and had poor stock control.

The Commission said the trustees failed to cooperate with the Commission and failed to engage with an action plan served in 2016, which included a plan to repay the money.

Mr Swettenham and Ms King have been disqualified from acting as charity trustees for twelve years until August 2031.