FOLLOWING an article in last week's Advertiser about Oliver Medhurst, the 34-year-old tetraplegic who was burgled on his birthday, the family have been inundated with offers of items to replace those which were stolen.

Residents responded to the story with shock and sympathy with several calling in to offer electrical goods.

Oliver's father Philip said: "The crime itself really destroys your faith in human nature, the fact that people can exploit someone so vulnerable, but a response like this restores it, and I can only thank people for that."

Oliver has had a laptop computer, a DVD player and an Xbox offered to him as well as countless other offers of items.

After being offered the games console, his carer, Ben Franklin, said: "The Xbox means we can take the controls and give him the opportunity to play.

"It's just about giving him the biggest choice of options to respond to and Oliver moves his head to let us know what he wants to do."

Eddie Lloyd was one of the readers who reacted to the story.

He said: "I just felt really moved by it. I've raised three children and my eldest son died at the age of 10 from chicken pox.

"My family is very much about putting each other before possessions and when I read the story I just felt sick.

"They must have known what they were doing and I thought I've got some spare bits and pieces they might appreciate."

Local businessman Chris Beaman also reacted on a personal level.

He added: "My grandson died only four weeks ago and he was disabled.

"When I saw Oliver's plight with all his things being stolen it caught at my heart strings."