Maltby mum says her poppy flasher son's no scumbag

My son's no scumbag says poppy flasher's mum

THE MUM of shamed Remembrance Day parade flasher Ricky Robey has insisted: “My son is not a scumbag.”

Michelle Robey personally apologised for the actions of her son in a letter to the Advertiser this week but urged people not to judge her son by his poorly-timed prank.

“As the mother of the Remembrance Day flasher, as he is known to everyone, I would like to apologise for my son's actions to eveyone who was present when the incident occurred,” she said.

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Mrs Robey said that she felt “deeply upset and ashamed” when she became aware of the incident and added: “I can imagine the upset it must have caused on such a day that should expect respect from most people.”

Robey (20) was seen flashing his manhood in the upstairs window of his home on Morrell Street, Maltby, as the town's 350-strong Remembrance Day parade passed by on November 8.

The incident sparked outrage with members of the public, the armed forces and Royal British Legion.

Robey later claimed that he was gesturing towards a friend who was working in the yard at the front of his home and wrote a letter of apology to RBL Poppy Appeal organiser, Anne Dickinson, who witnessed the incident.

But at a hearing at Rotherham Magistrates’ Court last Tuesday, District Judge Mr John Foster threatened the unemployed plasterer with prison and said: “It showed a marked and negligent disregard for what was a very emotional day.”

This week Mrs Robey insisted that her son was not a disrespectful person and felt huge remorse for what he had done.

She said: “Ricky is a well-liked, polite lad and he realises what he's done is wrong. Hopefully he will be dealt with fairly by the courts for his mistake.

“Let’s face it, he has done wrong but he hasn’t taken someone's life, robbed someone to feed a drug habit or beaten someone senseless. My son is not a scumbag.”

Mrs Robey said that she believed her son’s claims that he was directing a prank at a friend when he was seen exposing himself.

One person who continues to question Robey’s explaination, however, is Anne Dickinson.

The still furious RBL volunteer insisted: “I don't believe his version of events at all. There was nobody on his front garden when we went past and he would have known the parade was approaching.

“We had already passed his house once that morning and he would have heard the band.

“People are still very angry about what happened and I don't believe Ricky Robey has shown an ounce of genuine regret.

“After seeing that lad who urinated on Sheffield’s War Memorial walk away from court recently I just hope that justice is done in this case or people will be daring one another to cause increasing amounts of outrage at Remembrence Day events for years to come.”