A REWARD of £10,000 has been offered for information leading to the arrest of on-the-run sex offender Richard Scatchard, whom police want to question in connection with a West Somerset murder inquiry.

The charity Crimestoppers has put up the reward for information it receives exclusively if it then helps to catch Scatchard, who disappeared the day after a woman was found dead in his Minehead home.

A recent photograph of Richard Scatchard.
A recent photograph of Richard Scatchard. (Police handout)

Kelly Faiers, aged 61, from Weston super Mare, died on October 15 in Scatchard’s Blenheim Road flat.

Scatchard was last seen the following morning in Swain Street, Watchet.

Although nearly 90 sightings of him have since been reported to police, none has been confirmed.

Crimestoppers Westcountry manager Karen MacDonald said: “This man is dangerous and needs to be found urgently.

A new photograph of wanted man Richard Scatchard, showing him in Swain Street, Watchet.
The last known sighting of wanted man Richard Scatchard, in Swain Street, Watchet. (Avon and Somerset Police)

“If you know where he is, but prefer not to talk to the police, you can contact our charity and tell us anonymously what you know.

“As a charity that is independent of the police, Crimestoppers has always kept its promise of anonymity since we began in the 1980s.

“Millions of people have trusted us over the decades with their crime information.

“Please call our UK contact centre on freephone 0800 555 111, which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or fill in our website’s secure anonymous online form.

“Nobody will ever know you contacted us.

“We cannot trace your call or track your IP address and we never ask for or record any personal details.

“By sharing what you know, you will be helping to keep communities safe and avoiding any police or court contact.

“Nobody will ever know that you got in touch with our charity.”

People can contact the charity online at Crimestoppers-uk.org or call 0800 555 111 at any time of day or night.

An inquest opened this week into the death of Ms Faiers.

Senior Somerset Coroner Samantha Marsh was told the medical cause of death was ‘unascertained, pending histology and toxicology’.

Mrs Marsh gave case management directions and adjourned the inquest proceedings to a provisional hearing date of September 25 next year.

Police say wanted man Richard Scatchard is a danger to women.
Police say wanted man Richard Scatchard is a danger to women. (A&SP)

Scatchard was sentenced to life in prison in 2000 for a series of sex crimes, including drugging women with whom he had been in a relationship.

He was released on licence in 2013 and moved to Minehead in 2020.

The £10,000 for catching Scatchard is available until March 6, 2024, because rewards offered for specific cases expire after three months.

More information about rewards can be found on the Crimestoppers website. 

A reward code must be requested when telephoning the charity or if contact is via the online form, the ‘keeping in contact’ facility must be used and a reward code requested.