Man suffering from 'ice bucket challenge' disease is 'mocked' by Germany's top folk singer over condition

A wheelchair-bound pensioner suffering from the muscle-wasting disease that inspired the 'ice bucket challenge' phenomenon is claiming thousands of pounds from Germany's most famous folk singer because she laughed at him during a concert.

Austrian Heimo Eitel, 62, says his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) became worse after Helene Fischer mocked him in front of thousands of fellow fans - and wants £15,700 in compensation from the star.

He alleges that his ordeal began when he approached the star during a gig to offer he a present as she performed at the concert on the floating stage at Moerbisch am See, a town in the east Austrian state of Burgenland.

A huge fan of the singer, he had been waiting in his wheelchair with other admirers to give her three books, but instead of taking them when she saw him she had apparently laughed.  

Now he is demanding £15,700 for the insult as Europol officers allegedly hunt for her because she had not made her address available to the court in order for the paperwork to be served, including the request that she attend the court hearing.

Europol is the European Union's law enforcement agency usually seen assisting the European Union's Member States in their fight against serious international crime and terrorism.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder with various causes that recently shot to public prominence after it was a subject of a popular charity fundraising event known as the 'ice bucket challenge', with most of the money raised going to ALS sufferers.

ALS is characterised by muscle spasticity, and rapidly progressive weakness due to muscle wasting. 

This results in difficulty speaking, swallowing, and breathing, and in the case of Heimo it got significantly worse after his embarrassment at his alleged bad treatment by the German celebrity. 

His lawyer, Astrid Wagner, who said she was shocked when she reviewed the details of the case, claims she is confident of successfully representing her client and said there was plenty of proof that his condition had worsened significantly since the insult.

She filed charges after Fischer failed to appear at an arbitration hearing to see if the matter could be settled out of court.

Fischer's only comment on the incident is to say that she did not regard herself as a person who would discriminate against anybody in 'any way, shape or form'.

Helene Fischer is one of the most successful musicians in Germany and has sold more than 9,115,000 albums.

In June 2014, her multi platinum 2013 album 'Farbenspiel' became the most legally-downloaded album by a German artist of all time.