A MOTHER said she was “so grateful” to the generous stranger who donated £20 to her five-year-old son after the money his grandmother sent him for his birthday was taken.

Ammie Brown, who lives on Manchester Street in Barrow, said the gesture was “so lovely.”

The family were upset to find a letter sent to Ms Brown’s son Hunter by his grandmother, who lives in Lincolnshire, had been ripped open and the money which was meant to be a birthday present had been removed.

Following a story in The Mail, shedding light on the situation, a man called into our Abbey Road office and donated £20 to replace the money which was taken from the letter

Ms Brown said: “It is a lovely gesture. It is great to see someone in the community would go out of their way to do something like this.

“We’re so grateful.

“Hunter was so excited when he heard about the donation.

“He wants to buy a new PlayStation control so he can play with his siblings and his dad.

“He’s always asking them to play so now they can.”

Ms Brown said she also received a call from the chairman of Royal Mail who apologised for the incident and promised to send a cheque to the family, reimbursing Hunter for the lost money.

Ms Brown said: “The chairman was full of apologies when I spoke to him.

“I was surprised to hear from them as lots of people had told me they’d had bad experiences.

“But it was a really nice gesture and they were very apologetic so I’m happy how this has all turned out.”

Asked if he had a message for the man who had donated £20, Hunter said: "Thank you very much.”

Ms Brown contacted Royal Mail after the incident who confirmed they would investigate.