Brit businessman faces trial for ‘dumping American dementia OAP in middle of Hereford with no ID’

A BRITISH businessman will stand trial accused of "granny dumping" an American dementia patient who was flown to the UK and abandoned in a car park.

Roger Curry, 76, and no ID was unable to remember his name or personal details when he was discovered outside a bus station in Hereford in November 2015.

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The case baffled police and sparked a global appeal to find out who Mr Curry was and how he came to be in Britain.

Simon Hayes, 52, of Taunton, Somerset, appeared at Worcester Crown Court on Tuesday in connection with the case.

He is accused of helping Mr Curry's son Kevin Curry to intentionally abandon the OAP.

Hayes is charged with one count of fraud, one of perverting the course of justice and two counts of possessing fake letters and references for the use in fraud.

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In court yesterday Hayes, wearing a white T-shirt and jeans, denied the charges. He will stand trial next April.

Prosecutor Simon Davis said: "The defendant and [Roger's son] Kevin Curry effectively dumped Roger Curry in Hereford city centre knowing full well they just left him there.

"The motive was to put him into care - it's known as 'granny dumping'.

"Having left Roger Curry there, the defendant made contact with the police. His story was all lies, about having found this person."

Mr Hayes was granted bail on the condition he notifies police if he plans to leave the country for any period.

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Mr Curry was cared for at a nursing home in Credenhill, Hereford, for eight months before being flown back to Los Angeles.

Police spent months trying to work out who he was, despite contacting local care homes, hospitals and even international embassies.

Mr Curry appeared to have been cared for and was found wearing new clothes.

He lived in a care home run by Herefordshire Council but was eventually identified after a viewer responded to a police appeal on BBC Midlands Today.

Debbie Cocker found an old picture from a 1958 yearbook for Edmonds High School in Washington State which appeared to show Mr Curry in his younger days.

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Mr Curry was then tracked down by investigators to a burnt-out house following a fire at his home in 2014 in a wealthy suburb of Los Angeles.

Neighbours identified the mystery man as Mr Curry, a former nurse married with two children.

In a BBC Panorama documentary, his son Kevin said he had nothing to do with the abandonment of his dad.