WELLWISHERS have stepped forward to help a young leukaemia victim whose precious laptop was stolen while he was in hospital.

Donations have been flooding in following the Echo’s story about Dorchester schoolboy, Peter Lee, who was left without a way to communicate with his friends and family following the theft.

It was stolen from a CLIC Sargent home where his family were staying while Peter received treatment in Southampton General Hospital.

Local businessman Stuart Barnes came to the rescue with a replacement laptop donated from his Weymouth computer company – Coastal Computing.

Mum Jo Lee, 32, of Wessex Road, Dorchester, was overjoyed and said: “I’m really pleased – I was just so surprised that people wanted to help.

“We weren’t expecting anything like that at all – when I told Peter he just stood there and a huge grin appeared on his face.”

Manager of Coastal Computing Andy Hardy said: “We wanted to help because it’s not nice when anyone gets robbed, let alone when they are suffering from something like leukaemia.

“If this brings just a little bit of happiness to him and enables him to contact his friends it will be worth it.

“Hopefully, it will be something to keep him occupied while he is in hospital.”

Peter spent a few hours at home yesterday before going back to Dorset County Hospital and is expected to return to Southampton General Hospital for his next round of chemotherapy.

The Dorchester Middle School pupil was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in January and his mum said his laptop was his way of communicating with the outside world while he was in hospital. Offers to replace Peter’s computer rolled in yesterday from various members of the community, including 62-year-old Weymouth pensioner Gloria Docherty.

She said: “How anyone can do anything like that to a child especially when his family was staying in a place like that.

“The thing that struck me was that it could happen to my granddaughter so I wanted to do something to help.”

Dorchester firm Deane Computer Solutions also offered the gift of a laptop as well as the Dorset Masonic Fund.