A disabled pensioner whose computer was stolen by a neighbour posing as a police officer has been given a new one by a caring friend.
James Hannigan was the victim of the burglary last summer, when neighbour Thomas Sale tricked his way into James's house with an accomplice before leaving with a £400 computer.
Since then, the 78-year-old, who lost his leg to illness about eight years ago, has been without one.
But when his old friend Wayne Godwin read the story in the Leicester Mercury last week, he decided to buy him a new one.
Wayne, who owns his own roofing company, said: "A few years back, when he lived in Thurnby Lodge, we used to drink at The Manor and I sometimes used to help him with his wheelchair and I always liked chatting with him.
"He knows his stuff and loves talking football.
"When I read the story in the Mercury, I thought it was really harsh for him – he's only got one leg and he lives alone so his computer is his world.
"People like him need to know they've got friends."
James, who lives in a flat near Freemen's Common, said he instantly recognised Wayne when he saw him and was delighted with his new computer.
He said: "When I was first in my wheelchair I needed help getting up to the pub from my old folk's home in Thurnby Lodge and Wayne always helped me.
"He's got a heart the size of a house and he's a real gentleman.
"I'll never forget what he's done for me.
"It's a very nice computer and it's nice having one again – I don't have much and it's something for me to do.
"One thing I like is to use the internet to look at the streets back home in Glasgow, where I grew up."
Wayne said he hoped to see James again soon. He said: "When I took him the computer round, I said we'll get him a taxi to ship him over to Thurnby Lodge again for a beer one day."
James's neighbour was jailed for two years when he appeared at Leicester Crown Court last Tuesday. Sale (31), of Pavilion Close, Leicester, admitted theft and breaching a suspended jail sentence for a previous offence.
He was jailed for 21 months for the theft and a further three months for the suspended sentence he breached.
