EVENING Press readers were today hailed for their generosity, after a flood of donors rushed to the aid of crime victims featured in our pages.

Barber Terry Smith, owner of the Classic Cutz Barbers shop, in Heworth, York, was one of the many kind-hearted members of the public saddened by the plight of frail Acomb pensioner Betty Johnson, whose wheelchair was stolen from outside her home.

Last month we reported how the 82-year-old arthritis sufferer was left virtually housebound after thieves stole her wheelchair, and we were inundated with generous readers offering replacement chairs.

Now Betty has a new chair, after Terry used his morning's takings to buy her one.

He said: "A lady was put in a very vulnerable position - I felt it was the right thing to do."Betty's daughter-in-law, Rachael Johnson, 27, said: "We were going to get her one, but we didn't have the money. We were all saving, we were going to club together.

"It's fantastic to be able to take her about again. It makes life a lot easier.

"Terry's generosity is unbelievable - he's done really well for us. We really appreciate it."

Another generous reader got in touch with us after we reported how 76-year-old Leslie Benson, from Holgate, was left sickened after burglars sneaked into his home and stole part of his prized coin collection, worth hundreds of pounds.

Leslie had spent 20 years amassing the collection, which included a fairly rare set of Victorian Jubilee coins.

After we published the story, a York correspondent sent us a selection of about 30 old coins as a compensation gift for Mr Benson.

An anonymous letter sent with the coins read: "Please pass the coins and letter to Mr Benson. A sad tale, but in line with current times."

Mr Benson said: "It's so good that there are people like that still around. I'm really amazed that somebody should go out of their way to do that."

Among the coins was a half crown dating from 1929 - the year Leslie was born. They also included a selection of threepenny bits, a 1916 halfpenny and a penny piece from 1921.

The Evening Press reported recently how our readers also stepped in to help disabled 12-year-old Christopher Jennison, who a few weeks ago suffered a terrifying ordeal when he was confronted by a burglar in his bedroom.

The heartless thief ran off with Christopher's treasured PlayStation, along with games, a console, joysticks, 15 DVDs and the family's holiday fund.

Pam Richardson, chairwoman of the charity's York branch, said Christopher's ordeal had been "absolutely appalling".

"I can't imagine what he is going through. He must be frightened out of his skin.

One generous reader gave Christopher a new PlayStation, while others sent in £20 towards a holiday, a Game Boy, three more PlayStations and a £40 gift voucher.

Updated: 11:12 Tuesday, September 06, 2005